Upcycling to sustainably reuse plastics
Plastics are now indispensable in daily lives. However, the pollution from plastics is also increasingly becoming a serious environmental issue. Recent years have seen more sustainable approaches and technologies, commonly known as upcycling, to transform plastics into value-added materials and chem...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2022
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/162306 |
| _version_ | 1826118249373237248 |
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| author | Zhao, Xin Boruah, Bhanupriya Chin, Kek Foo Đokić, Miloš Modak, Jayant M Soo, Han Sen |
| author2 | School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences |
| author_facet | School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Zhao, Xin Boruah, Bhanupriya Chin, Kek Foo Đokić, Miloš Modak, Jayant M Soo, Han Sen |
| author_sort | Zhao, Xin |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Plastics are now indispensable in daily lives. However, the pollution from plastics is also increasingly becoming a serious environmental issue. Recent years have seen more sustainable approaches and technologies, commonly known as upcycling, to transform plastics into value-added materials and chemical feedstocks. In this review, the latest research on upcycling is presented, with a greater focus on the use of renewable energy as well as the more selective methods to repurpose synthetic polymers. First, thermal upcycling approaches are briefly introduced, including the redeployment of plastics for construction uses, 3D printing precursors, and lightweight materials. Then, some of the latest novel strategies to deconstruct condensation polymers to monomers for repolymerization or introduce vulnerable linkers to make the plastics more degradable are discussed. Subsequently, the review will explore the breakthroughs in plastics upcycling by heterogeneous and homogeneous photocatalysis, as well as electrocatalysis, which transform plastics into more versatile fine chemicals and materials while simultaneously mitigating global climate change. In addition, some of the biotechnological advances in the discovery and engineering of microbes that can decompose plastics are also presented. Finally, the current challenges and outlook for future plastics upcycling are discussed to stimulate global cooperation in this field. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:40:19Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/162306 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:40:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1623062022-10-13T02:10:08Z Upcycling to sustainably reuse plastics Zhao, Xin Boruah, Bhanupriya Chin, Kek Foo Đokić, Miloš Modak, Jayant M Soo, Han Sen School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Solar Fuels Laboratory Science::Chemistry Artificial Photosynthesis Plastics Degradation Plastics are now indispensable in daily lives. However, the pollution from plastics is also increasingly becoming a serious environmental issue. Recent years have seen more sustainable approaches and technologies, commonly known as upcycling, to transform plastics into value-added materials and chemical feedstocks. In this review, the latest research on upcycling is presented, with a greater focus on the use of renewable energy as well as the more selective methods to repurpose synthetic polymers. First, thermal upcycling approaches are briefly introduced, including the redeployment of plastics for construction uses, 3D printing precursors, and lightweight materials. Then, some of the latest novel strategies to deconstruct condensation polymers to monomers for repolymerization or introduce vulnerable linkers to make the plastics more degradable are discussed. Subsequently, the review will explore the breakthroughs in plastics upcycling by heterogeneous and homogeneous photocatalysis, as well as electrocatalysis, which transform plastics into more versatile fine chemicals and materials while simultaneously mitigating global climate change. In addition, some of the biotechnological advances in the discovery and engineering of microbes that can decompose plastics are also presented. Finally, the current challenges and outlook for future plastics upcycling are discussed to stimulate global cooperation in this field. Ministry of Education (MOE) H.S.S. acknowledges that this project is supported by A*STAR under the AME IRG grants A2083c0050, A1783c0003, A1783c0002, and A1783c0007. H.S.S. is also grateful for the Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 1 grants RG 111/18 and RT 05/19 2022-10-12T05:44:01Z 2022-10-12T05:44:01Z 2022 Journal Article Zhao, X., Boruah, B., Chin, K. F., Đokić, M., Modak, J. M. & Soo, H. S. (2022). Upcycling to sustainably reuse plastics. Advanced Materials, 34(25), e2100843-. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.202100843 0935-9648 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/162306 10.1002/adma.202100843 34240472 2-s2.0-85109735478 25 34 e2100843 en RG 111/18 RT 05/19 Advanced Materials © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH. All rights reserved. |
| spellingShingle | Science::Chemistry Artificial Photosynthesis Plastics Degradation Zhao, Xin Boruah, Bhanupriya Chin, Kek Foo Đokić, Miloš Modak, Jayant M Soo, Han Sen Upcycling to sustainably reuse plastics |
| title | Upcycling to sustainably reuse plastics |
| title_full | Upcycling to sustainably reuse plastics |
| title_fullStr | Upcycling to sustainably reuse plastics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Upcycling to sustainably reuse plastics |
| title_short | Upcycling to sustainably reuse plastics |
| title_sort | upcycling to sustainably reuse plastics |
| topic | Science::Chemistry Artificial Photosynthesis Plastics Degradation |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/162306 |
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