Researchers in Singapore are seeking a patent for a new sound-proof and heat-resistant material made from recycled plastic bottles they say could help reduce plastic waste dumped in oceans and clogging landfills. there will be no waste for me to recycle,” he said.As countries struggle to cope with growing piles of plastic and other waste, Duong said their invention showed that engineering and technology can offer solutions.
“Plastic waste is one of the hardest wastes to recycle,” Hai Minh Duong, an associate professor at the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, told Reuters Television.Versions of the material can also be used for heat and sound insulation in buildings, cleaning oil spills and in masks to absorb carbon monoxide.
The PET aerogels made from plastic bottle waste are soft, flexible, durable, very light and easy to handle, the team said in a statement this month.N.One recycled bottle can produce an A4-sized aerogel sheet, the team said, and the material can be customised for various uses by adding surface treatments to enhance its ability to absorb and insulate.Five Asian countries - China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand - accounted for up to 60 per cent of plastic waste leaking into oceans, according to a 2015 study. The cost of making a 1 meter by 1 meter by 1 cm sheet could be less than SUSD 10 (USD 7. Environment Program.“In the future, my dream is that .
The National University of Singapore team said it had found a way to convert bottles made from polyethene terephthalate (PET) into aerogels that have many potential uses - from insulation and fire safety to cleaning up oil spills.The team had been looking for novel engineering applications to help reduce the global scourge of plastic waste, he said.It filed for a patent in March and is looking for partners to mass produce the aerogel.The team published its research SEALUP-E3 Sealing Cover Film Suppliers in the scientific journal Colloids and Surfaces A in August..30), Duong said.Some eight million tonnes of plastic is dumped into oceans every year, killing marine life and entering the human food chain, according to the U. That is seven times higher than a regular thermal lining in a firefighter’s coat, and only 10 per cent of the weight
