According to foreign media New Atlas reports, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, which is lightweight and not fragile, is recyclable, but most items made with it are not recycled. This is because recycled PET (rPET) is not as good as the original material. However, a new "upgrade recycling" process is said to make it better.
The technology was developed by scientists from the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It first melts waste PET items (such as bottles), and then adds organic fibers obtained from plant waste. The final product is two types of fiber-reinforced rPET, which are said to be two to three times stronger than the original and more durable.
In addition, it is estimated that NREL technology requires 57% less energy than existing PET recycling processes, and it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% compared to standard petroleum-based composite manufacturing.
Although it is currently impossible to recycle the new rPET, researchers are studying ways to do so. Existing first-generation PET can only be recycled once or twice. As mentioned earlier, standard recycling technology will result in lower material quality than the original material.
"The current standard PET recycling is basically 'degraded recycling'," said Gregg Beckham, senior author of the study. "Our proposed process is to upgrade PET to a long-time, high-value composite material, such as materials used in automotive parts, wind turbine blades, surfboards or snowboards."
The paper was recently published in the journal "Joule".
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