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Sunlight Can Be Used to Transform Plastic into Chemicals

Plastic bottles ready for processing sit at a recycling center. (AP)
Plastic bottles ready for processing sit at a recycling center. (AP)
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Sunlight Can Be Used to Transform Plastic into Chemicals

Plastic bottles ready for processing sit at a recycling center. (AP)
Plastic bottles ready for processing sit at a recycling center. (AP)

A research team at the Singapore-based Nanyang Technological University has developed a new method that could turn plastic waste into valuable chemicals by using sunlight.

According to the German news agency, in lab experiments, the research team mixed plastics with their catalyst in a solvent, which allows the solution to harness light energy and convert the dissolved plastics into formic acid, a chemical used in fuel cells to produce electricity.

The Advanced Science journal reported that the team made their catalyst from the affordable, biocompatible metal, commonly used in steel alloys for vehicles and aluminum alloys for aircraft.

When the catalyst was dissolved in a solution containing a non-biodegradable consumer plastic like polyethylene and exposed to artificial sunlight, it broke down the carbon-carbon bonds within the plastic in six days. This process turned the polyethylene into formic acid, a naturally occurring preservative and antibacterial agent, which can also be used for energy generation by power plants and in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Soo Han Sen, one of the study's authors, said: "We aimed to develop sustainable and cost-effective methods to harness sunlight to manufacture fuels and other chemical products."

The research team is now pursuing improvements to the process that may allow the breakdown of plastics to produce other useful chemical fuels, such as hydrogen gas.

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China Heatwaves Boost Ice Factory Sales

A worker uses tongs to move ice blocks inside a refrigerated store at the Feichao Ice Factory in Hangzhou. Heatwaves across China have caused demand for ice to soar - AFP
A worker uses tongs to move ice blocks inside a refrigerated store at the Feichao Ice Factory in Hangzhou. Heatwaves across China have caused demand for ice to soar - AFP
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China Heatwaves Boost Ice Factory Sales

A worker uses tongs to move ice blocks inside a refrigerated store at the Feichao Ice Factory in Hangzhou. Heatwaves across China have caused demand for ice to soar - AFP
A worker uses tongs to move ice blocks inside a refrigerated store at the Feichao Ice Factory in Hangzhou. Heatwaves across China have caused demand for ice to soar - AFP

In a high-ceilinged room on the outskirts of eastern China's Hangzhou, workers use tongs to slide large blocks of frosty white ice along a metal track into a refrigerated truck.

Sales have picked up in recent weeks, boosted by heatwaves sweeping the whole country as summer sets in, the owner of Feichao ice factory, Sun Chao, told AFP.

Globally, heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense because of climate change, experts say, and China is no exception -- 2024 was the country's hottest on record, and this year is also set to be a scorcher.

Last week, authorities warned of heat-related health risks across large swathes of eastern China, including Zhejiang province where Hangzhou is located.

"In the spring, autumn, and winter, a higher temperature of two to three degrees doesn't have a big impact on our sales," Sun said.

"But in the summer, when temperatures are slightly higher, it has a big impact."

Feichao is a relatively small facility that sells ice to markets, produce transporters, and event organizers.

As the mercury soared past 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in multiple cities across China recently, ice from businesses like Sun's was used to cool down huge outdoor venues.

In neighbouring Jiangsu province, organisers of a football match attended by over 60,000 people placed more than 10,000 large blocks of ice around the stadium, according to the state-owned Global Times.

As AFP watched lorries being loaded with Feichao's ice on Wednesday, an employee from a nearby seafood shop came on foot to purchase two ice blocks -- each selling for around $3.50 -- hauling them off in a large plastic bag.

"In May and June, I can sell around 100 tonnes a day. In July, that number grows, and I can sell around 300 to 400 tonnes," Sun told AFP.

China has endured a string of extreme summers in recent years.

In June, authorities issued heat warnings in Beijing as temperatures in the capital rose to nearly 40 degrees Celsius, while state media said 102 weather stations across the country logged their hottest-ever June day.

The same month, six people were killed and more than 80,000 evacuated due to floods in southern Guizhou province.

China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that scientists generally agree are driving climate change and making extreme weather more intense and frequent.

It is also a global leader in renewable energy, adding capacity at a faster rate than any other country.