Melting, the traditional way of recycling plastic, degrades the material. Scientists make groundbreaking discovery that could change the future of recycling: 'This process could make a significant ...

Irradiation can also complement and enhance traditional recycling methods. When combined with a chemical recycling method ...

A team of chemists has recently introduced an eco-friendly, solvent-free approach to recycling plastic by using moisture ...

Northwestern University chemists have developed a non-toxic, resource-efficient, solvent-free method for breaking down ...

Plastic pyrolysis is a chemical process that involves chemically breaking down plastics into other molecules by heating the plastics to extremely high temperatures in the absence of oxygen.

Just like with other chemical reactions, heat and pressure can speed up the degradation, so even the process of making the plastic can initiate some of the damage that will happen later.

Their method begins with adding a molybdenum catalyst and activated carbon to PET. When heated, the plastic breaks down into ...

But by simply shredding and melting post-consumer waste into new pellets, its scale is limited — the process ... making plastics a priority. “U.S. petrochemical producers are committed to the ...

These plastic-making factories include ethane “cracker” and methanol plants, both which process natural gas to create plastic. For example: ExxonMobil and a Saudi Arabian partner plan to build the ...

The plastic problem Commonly used in food packaging ... reduce energy input and avoid the use of aggressive chemicals, making the process cleaner and more environmentally friendly." ...