Got Too Many Plastic Bags? Recycle Them Into Nanotubes

Discoblog
By Brett Israel
Dec 14, 2009 11:15 PMNov 20, 2019 5:37 AM
plastic-bag-waste-web.gif

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news
 

An Argonne National Laboratory scientist thinks he has developed a better way to recycle a ubiquitous scourge of the environment—the plastic bag.

the plastic bag

New Scientist

reports:

Waste plastic from "throwaway" carrier bags can be readily converted into carbon nanotubes. The chemist who developed the technique has even used the nanotubes to make lithium-ion batteries. This is called "upcycling" – converting a waste product into something more valuable. Finding ways to upcycle waste could encourage more recycling...

The process isn't cheap, however. It involves an expensive catalyst in cobalt acetate, which is not easily recovered, to convert the high or low-density polyethylene (HDPE and LDPE) into carbon nanotubes. But if the nanotubes are then used to make lithium-ion or lithium-air batteries, that might overcome this problem, since these batteries are already recycled at the end of their use to recover cobalt. Getting the bags to a recycling facility in the first place may be a hurdle as well. As the picture above shows, asking the public to put forth any effort sometimes seems to be asking too much. Related Content: 80beats: How to Make a Battery Out of Office Paper & Nanotubes DISCOVER: The World’s Largest Garbage Dump: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Discoblog: Prison for Plastic? Indian City Initiates Harsh Penalties for Using Plastic Bags Discoblog: It’s In the Bag! Teenager Wins Science Fair, Solves Massive Environmental Problem DISCOVER: 9 Ways Carbon Nanotubes Just Might Rock the WorldImage: flickr / Sam Felder

1 free article left
Want More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/month

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

1 free articleSubscribe
Discover Magazine Logo
Want more?

Keep reading for as low as $1.99!

Subscribe

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

More From Discover
Recommendations From Our Store
Shop Now
Stay Curious
Join
Our List

Sign up for our weekly science updates.

 
Subscribe
To The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Copyright © 2024 Kalmbach Media Co.