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Scientists are Converting Plastic into Chemicals for Power Generation Using Light

FACTS:

Researchers and scientists in Singapore have discovered a way to help reduce plastic waste while boosting the country’s electricity output. They mix the plastic with a chemical slurry and expose it to light for six days, breaking the product down to Formic Acid, which is then used in power plants. While current methods of recycling plastic involves heating the plastic using fossil fuels, producing even more greenhouse gasses, this new method neither damages the environment or is as expensive. The next step is to replicate this experiment on a large scale, but more funding and resources are needed to proceed.

QUOTES:

Soo Han Sen, lead researcher at NTU’s School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences:

“We are able to turn plastics, which are of course polluting the oceans, into useful chemicals,” … “We’re hoping to turn this into a fully renewable process that’s carbon neutral.”

SOURCE:

You can read the source article from the ‘Advanced Science’ journal click here.