flâneur

Potential for profits gives Rice lab’s plastic waste project promise | Rice News | News and Media Relations | Rice University

news.rice.edu · 1,222 words · saved by 1 readers

Putting that soda bottle or takeout container into the recycling bin is far from a guarantee it will be turned into something new. Scientists at Rice University are trying to address this problem by making the process profitable. 将汽水瓶或外卖容器放入回收箱并不能保证它会变成新的东西。莱斯大学的科学家们正试图通过使这一过程有利可图来解决这个问题。 The amount of plastic waste produced globally has doubled over the past two decades — and plastic production is expected to triple by 2050 — with most of it ending up in landfills, incinerated or otherwise mismanaged, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Some estimates suggest only 5% is actually being recycled. 根据经济合作与发展组织的数据，过去 20 年来，全球产生的塑料垃圾量增加了一倍，预计到 2050 年塑料产量将增加两倍，其中大部分最终会被填埋、焚烧或管理不善。一些估计表明，实际上只有 5% 被回收。 “Waste plastic is rarely recycled because it costs a lot of money to do all the washing, sorting and melting down of the plastics to turn it into a material that can be used by a factory,” said Kevin Wyss, a Rice graduate student and lead author on a study pub

Feb. 16, 2023 Putting that soda bottle or takeout container into the recycling bin is far from a guarantee it will be turned into something new. Scientists at Rice University are trying to address this problem by making the process profitable. Flash Joule heating can be used to make carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers from mixed waste plastics, a method that is 90% more efficient than existing production processes. The nanotube diameter can be controlled by changing the power or catalyst used. (Image courtesy of Tour lab/Rice University) The amount of plastic waste produced globally…

saved by

related reading