New Technique to Recycle Polystyrene into Value-Added Products

University: Clemson University

Objective of study: Plastics must be recycled or transformed into new value-added products

Process and applications:

Ball-milling is a method in which materials are placed in a milling vial with metal ball bearings, which is agitated until a preferred chemical reaction takes place.
This method is dubbed mechanochemistry and finds several applications in new materials synthesis, offering appealing features with respect to plastics recycling
This method represents an important breakthrough that enables dismantling of a polymer simultaneously with its break-down under ambient conditions
Re-processed polymers exhibit inferior performance compared to the newly manufactured 'made from scratch' materials

Benefits:

A low energy, green process to break down polystyrene, a kind of plastic used extensively in cutlery, disposable food containers, foam packaging materials

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University Details

Clemson University

Clemson University is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina Know more