Radio Islam International – 2019/02/25

Instead of ending up in a landfill, the plastic used for grocery bags may soon be powering our smartphones, according to new research.

Scientists from Purdue University have developed a procedure that converts the plastic into the carbon chips that are found in lithium batteries used to power portable electronics and medical devices.

The technique could solve the plastic recycling crisis while simultaneously boosting production of lithium batteries, which are being used in everything from chainsaws to electric cars with a growth rate that may soon cause shortages or price spikes.

Experts have long suspected polyethylene in plastic bags could be a cheap source of energy-storing carbon, but their previous attempts at conversion have either failed or required processes that are too expensive or complex.

According to research published in ACS Omega by Dr. Vilas Pol, a chemical engineer at the Indiana university, the problem has been solved with a simple and more efficient approach.

“Many plastic bags are used only once and then disposed, ending up in landfills, oceans and elsewhere in the environment, where they can take hundreds of years to decompose.”

Dr Pol says that globally around 300 million tons of plastic were produced in 2013 to fulfill the growing demand.