
New type of plastic is a recycling dream - Elof
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/04/new-type-of-plastic-is-a-recycling-dream/
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dragontamer
A good time to plug aluminum and glass, two materials which are infinitely
recyclable.

Both Aluminum and Glass are chopped up into tiny pieces, then melted into a
"slag". The high temperature and chemistry allows both Aluminum and Glass to
be 100% as effective as their originals. Its a true, infinite recycling
process.

In contrast: Plastics and paper are "downcycled". High-quality printer paper
gets turned into newspaper, then newspaper gets turned into cardboard. Each
step, the recycled paper loses value due to contamination. In effect, paper
and plastic cannot be "purified" like Aluminum or Glass.

IIRC, Type6 Plastic can only be turned into the foam for carpeting, for
example. Some plastics, like HDPE or Type5 (Polypropylene) are highly-
recyclable... but no plastic is as good as aluminum or glass. All plastics
undergo some degree of "downcycling", where each recycling iteration loses
value.

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Elof
_The researchers also tested the physical properties of their “fresh” plastics
by remaking them with recycled monomers. The results were good, with no change
in their function._

The article claims that this process makes these plastics infinitely reusable
with no degradation in quality. It can also create plastics of different types
from the same recycled materials. The process also requires less energy than
traditional heat methods

~~~
dragontamer
Oh yeah, I mean to give context why this new plastic is cool.

Mainstream plastic, like PETE, HDPE, PP, PS, etc. etc. are all "downcycled",
never truly "recycled". Just like paper, they lose value each time you send
them to the recycling plant.

This new plastic has a mechanism that might work for true recycling. But...
maybe not. Its one thing to prove a few tricks, but in practice... won't
contaminants also be dissolved in that acid bath?

Ex: a lot of plastic containers are used in the food industry. Many
(american)-Chinese food businesses use plastic for their delivery service. Can
the food contamination be effectively cleansed off perfectly?

Because Aluminum / Glass definitely burns off any food contaminants as it
reaches 1221F (Aluminum Melting point) or 2552F (Glass melting point). And
IIRC, the various contaminants either float to the top, or sink to the bottom
of the liquid-mix at that temperature. Which is why the purification process
is relatively easy.

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ohiovr
So what if a little peanut butter gets mixed in?

