There are many types of plastics that we use directly or indirectly in our daily lives. Of the many types of plastics, thermosets are some of the toughest. These are plastics that are very durable and are heat-resistant. These features, however, are also what makes them very difficult to break down and recycle. But scientists may just have found a way to break this plastic down, while keeping its original strength.
Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.
The study suggests that by changing the way they’re made, we could keep the original strength of these thermosets, but make them able to be broken down and recycled.
Currently, around 75 percent of the plastic we use in items such as plastic wrappers and plastic bags can be broken down and then reused. But thermosets, which are found in things such as car parts, aren’t reusable.
The new approach involves slightly adjusting the mixture that makes up thermoset plastic, adding particular types of building blocks (or monomers) called silyl ethers that are more susceptible to being pulled apart and reshaped.
More details about this over at ScienceAlert.
(Image Credit: Cjp24/ Wikimedia Commons)
Source: neatorama