Image։ Getty Images/Mahadas
Scientists have converted waste cooking oil into various recyclable plastics with exceptional strength – and some were even durable enough to tow a car.
Turning nonedible waste into useful polymers is a sustainable way to create new materials. "Waste streams offer a potentially attractive alternative to biomass-derived feedstocks [to make plastics]," the researchers wrote in the study.
One such waste stream is used cooking oil, where nearly 3.7 billion gallons is generated each year. This waste oil has so far found uses in lubricants, nonstick coating and fuel, but much of it still gets thrown away. In the new research, the scientists found a way to convert the waste oil into useful plastic materials that are strongly adhesive and recyclable.
"This work highlights the potential of nonedible biomass waste as a renewable feedstock for…environmentally friendly alternatives to petroleum-based plastics," the researchers wrote.
Source: Journal of the American Chemical Society
Image։ Getty Images/Mahadas