The research uses low-amount solvents acting as hydrogen sources to break down a specific class of plastics called condensation polymers.
Microplastics, plastics smaller than 5 millimeters, are littered worldwide, contributing to global warming, disrupting food chains, and harming ecosystems with toxic chemicals.
This is why Dr. Manish Shetty, an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, is working to break down plastics before they enter the environment.
Creating sustainable chemicals and developing better waste management will contribute to better sustainability.
This research is part of figuring out how to make green hydrogen available for waste management using catalysts.
Turning plastic into green hydrogen
Shetty’s research uses low-amount solvents acting as hydrogen sources to break down a specific class of plastics called condensation polymers, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, packaging, textiles, and 3D printing.
“What we have done in this research is to break down condensation polymers to aromatic compounds that can be used as fuels,” Shetty said.
“We use organic compounds called liquid organic hydrogen carriers to store hydrogen and use that hydrogen to break down the polymers.”
Shetty and his team designed catalysts to harness the stored hydrogen after breaking these condensation polymers, as outlined in Shetty’.
Waste-management solution
Shetty said his research offers a waste-management solution and is crucial for the chemical industry’s sustainability.
“We have developed a solution for sustainability and waste management on these catalysts
“These organic molecules transport this hydrogen from where it’s generated to where it’s used for waste management, especially in an urban environment where we collect a lot of these wastes.”
According to the paper, the research approach uses methanol to break down PET into smaller fragments and an H2 source to form p-xylene from PET, a potential chemical or fuel.
Shetty believes that applying this research could change our economy from relying on fossil fuels.
“One of the things that might happen is, as hydrogen becomes more available, especially for green hydrogen, which is through water electrolysis, we need the hydrogen carriers as a transport vector.
One such use would be waste management and valorization
Waste to hydrogen
Researchers worldwide have already developed ways to turn waste materials into green hydrogen.
Hyundai recently started testing domestic fuel production using biogas from food scraps.
The step is claimed to be part of Hyundai’s long-term vision of developing a sustainable energy future based on gas.
Hyundai has also unveiled its organic and plastic waste in H2-turning facilities. Together, these plants will produce more than 30,000 tons of hydrogen annually, making them the world’s largest facility in their field.
Reseachers at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) have developed a procedure to make hydrogen gas from water using only solar power and agricultural waste, such as manure or husks.
According to the team, by reducing the energy required to extract hydrogen from water by 600 percent, the technique opens up new possibilities for creating environmentally friendly, sustainable chemicals.