
In a significant step toward tackling the global plastic waste problem, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed a new method to upcycle discarded plastics into superior-performance materials. According to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, this technique involves editing the polymers of waste plastics to produce higher-value macromolecules, offering an innovative fix to the 450 million tons of plastic waste generated annually.
Current plastic recycling methods have significant downsides; the end products are often inferior and degrade with each reuse cycle. ORNL's novel approach circumvents this issue by rearranging the polymers' original building blocks, which could give a new life to materials previously destined for the landfill. Jeffrey Foster, the study's leading scientist, told Oak Ridge National Laboratory's newsroom, "Instead of editing strands of genes, we are editing polymer chains. This isn’t the typical plastic recycling ‘melt and hope for the best’ scenario."
The team at ORNL focused their efforts on polymers such as polybutadiene and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, used in products from tires to kitchen appliances. These materials have been particularly tough to recycle, often ending up in incineration or cluttering landfills and oceans. Their process begins by dissolving waste polymers in a solvent, chemically reacting using a ruthenium catalyst to create value-added polymers.
One of the process's advantages is its "high atom economy," Foster explained, meaning nearly all material is recovered during recycling, as per the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This starkly contrasts traditional recycling methods, which lose value with each cycle. Significantly, this upcycling utilizes existing building blocks to incorporate the mass and characteristics of the waste material, providing added functionality and value. The research, funded by the DOE Office of Science Materials Science and Engineering program and ORNL Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, promises to redefine the meaning of waste plastics.