Upcycling Plastics to Reduce Greenhouse Gases

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign shares a new study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society explaining how a series of coupled catalytic reactions can transform polyethylene. The study builds on previous research and is a huge step forward in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The goal is to cut each very long PE molecule many times to obtain many small pieces, which are the propylene molecules. First, a catalyst removes hydrogen from the PE, creating a reactive location on the chain. Next, the chain is split in two at this location using a second catalyst, which caps the ends using ethylene. Finally, a third catalyst moves the reactive site along the PE chain so the process can be repeated. Eventually, all that is left are a large number of propylene molecules.

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