New method helps Ford recycle more than 25% of car plastic

The project, led by chemist James Tour and graduate student Kevin Wyss at Rice University in the US, focuses on using plastic waste from expired cars into graphene material, and regenerating foam into graphene again. .

Detailed tests show that the graphene-reinforced polyurethane foam has 34% improved tensile strength and 25% higher low-frequency noise absorption. All of these advantages are achieved with just 0.1% difference in weight of graphene, according to the study published in the journal Graphene. Communications Engineering May 26th.

“Ford sent us 4.5 kg of mixed plastic waste from an old car shredding facility. We converted the plastic into graphene through a process of rapid heating with high current and transferred it back to Ford. They put the graphene into the new polyurethane foam composite, then send it to us to turn it back into graphene again. It’s a great example of circular recycling,” emphasized Tour.

In this experiment, Tour and his colleagues heated the plastic mixture to nearly 5,000°F, or 2,760°C, evaporating everything but graphene. The rapid heating with high current is also environmentally friendly, as it uses no solvents and requires only a relatively small amount of energy to create graphene. Calculations show that the new method could help Ford reduce the volume of plastic waste by 25.5%.

Plastic used in vehicles has increased by 75% in the last 6 years alone. The average SUV holds up to 350 kg of plastic and if not recycled, they will be left in landfills for centuries.

With around 10 million vehicles thrown away each year, the circular recycling process developed by Tour’s team can significantly reduce the impact of vehicles on the environment.

Doan Duong (Follow Interesting Engineering)