Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air
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Re: Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air
#2Well, they used a "simple, inexpensive catalyst" and then HEATED the plastic/catalyst mysture. Nowhere in the article it gives you an estimate of the final cost of the process.
Re: Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air
#3[deleted]
Re: Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air
#4Well, they used a "simple, inexpensive catalyst" and then HEATED the plastic/catalyst mysture. Nowhere in the article it gives you an estimate of the final cost of the process.
Yes. I can break down plastics that way, using ordinary tap water.
Actually, the tap water is optional.
And instead of monomers, the end product is carbon - which is even more recyclable!
Re: Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air
#5Well, they used a "simple, inexpensive catalyst" and then HEATED the plastic/catalyst mysture. Nowhere in the article it gives you an estimate of the final cost of the process.
The journal article is open access. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/gc/d4gc0...
> Catalytic amounts of AC/MoO2 selectively convert waste PET into its monomer, terephthalic acid (TPA), within 4 h at 265 °C with yields as high as 94% under 1 atm air.
I'm not a chemist so don't know if you can find a way to calculate the cost, but the authors claim that it's cheaper than current methods.
The bigger deal imo is that it recovers PET monomers from mixed plastics, which means avoiding manufacturing more plastic.
Re: Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air
#6Well, they used a "simple, inexpensive catalyst" and then HEATED the plastic/catalyst mysture. Nowhere in the article it gives you an estimate of the final cost of the process.
The journal article is open access. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/gc/d4gc0... > Catalytic amounts of AC/MoO2 selectively convert waste PET into its monomer, terephthalic acid (TPA), within 4 h at 265 °C with yields as high as 94% under 1 atm air. I'm not a chemist so don't know if you can find a way to calculate the cost, but the authors claim that it's cheaper than current methods. The bigger d…
Yeah, these are pizza oven temperatures. The temperature appears to be just above the melting point for PET. It is also in the liquid phase for PBT, PEN and PEF.
I think most recycling methods for PET require melting anyway.
Re: Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air
#7Well, they used a "simple, inexpensive catalyst" and then HEATED the plastic/catalyst mysture. Nowhere in the article it gives you an estimate of the final cost of the process.
The journal article is open access. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/gc/d4gc0... > Catalytic amounts of AC/MoO2 selectively convert waste PET into its monomer, terephthalic acid (TPA), within 4 h at 265 °C with yields as high as 94% under 1 atm air. I'm not a chemist so don't know if you can find a way to calculate the cost, but the authors claim that it's cheaper than current methods. The bigger d…
This is contrast to the pyrolysis-based "chemical recycling of plastics" which makes a mix of petrochemicals similar to what you find in the BTX stage of a petrochemical factories [1], especially for condensation polymers like PET. That is, this process produces fairly pure Terephthalic acid [2] and Acetaldehyde [3] and the first of those could be recycled into more PET.
The thing is BTX chemicals and other precursors of mass produced plastics cost about 50 cents a pound which makes it hard for any kind of recycling process to be competitive.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BTX_(chemistry)
Re: Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air
#8Well, they used a "simple, inexpensive catalyst" and then HEATED the plastic/catalyst mysture. Nowhere in the article it gives you an estimate of the final cost of the process.
The journal article is open access. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/gc/d4gc0... > Catalytic amounts of AC/MoO2 selectively convert waste PET into its monomer, terephthalic acid (TPA), within 4 h at 265 °C with yields as high as 94% under 1 atm air. I'm not a chemist so don't know if you can find a way to calculate the cost, but the authors claim that it's cheaper than current methods. The bigger d…
That's within the range of a kitchen oven. The biggest problem is that plastic is so cheap that even that relatively modest energy use may make it uneconomic compared to virgin TPA, especially if you have to clean the inputs thoroughly first.
Re: Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air
#9I was expecting a much more complicated catalyst!
Re: Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air
#10there is also the possibility to recycle pet-bottles into food grade bottles again using just mechanical means, I know at least two European companies who provide such machines