According to a research done at Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, new chemical conversion process could transform the world’s polyolefin waste, a form of plastic, into useful products, such as polymers, clean fuels and other items.
Wang, Kai Jin, a graduate student, and Wan-Ting (Grace) Chen, a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue, are the inventors of the technology, which can convert more than 90 percent of polyolefin waste into many different products, including pure polymers, naphtha, fuels, or monomers.
The team is collaborating with Gozdem Kilaz, an assistant professor in the School of Engineering Technology, and her doctoral research assistant, Petr Vozka, in the Fuel Laboratory of Renewable Energy of the School of Engineering Technology, to optimise the conversion process to produce high-quality gasoline or diesel fuels.
“Our strategy is to create a driving force for recycling by converting polyolefin waste into a wide range of valuable products, including polymers, naphtha (a mixture of hydrocarbons), or clean fuels. Our conversion technology has the potential to boost the profits of the recycling industry and shrink the world’s plastic waste stock.” said Linda Wang, the Maxine Spencer Nichols Professor in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University and leader of the research team developing this technology.
Wang says the technology could convert up to 90 percent of the polyolefin plastic.
The conversion process incorporates selective extraction and hydrothermal liquefaction. Once the plastic is converted into naphtha, it can be used as a feedstock for other chemicals or further separated into specialty solvents or other products. The clean fuels derived from the polyolefin waste generated each year can satisfy four percent of the annual demand for gasoline or diesel fuels.
Wang and her team are looking for investors or partners to assist with demonstrating this technology at a commercial scale.
