Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new way to transform polyethylene, one of the world’s most common plastics, into gasoline- and diesel-like fuels. One of the most notable features of the method is how little it requires compared with more conventional plastic-to-fuel technologies. The lower temperature, along with the absence of costly noble-metal catalysts, external hydrogen, organic solvents, and a chemical initiator, could simplify the process.
The researchers now want to investigate ways to confine the molten salts, potentially using halogens or carbon-based materials, which could make the salts easier to separate and process while improving their stability. The work could ultimately expand the range of methods available for producing transportation and industrial fuels from waste materials.
”Polymer source material is abundantly available from consumer waste, and our catalyst system, aluminum molten salts, is very cheap,” Qiu [Liqi Qiu, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville] said. ”This advance may be promising for industry.”
Source: Science Daily
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