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Plastic and Energy
Non-oil-derived plastics, recycling plastic, solar
applications of plastic; and other alternative, clean-energy related
applications or contexts of plastic.
Plastic Back to Oil
- Giant
microwave turns plastic back to oil - Global Resource Corporation
can turn plastics back into the oil they were made from, and gas (and
a few leftovers), using a finely tuned microwave that uses 1200 different frequencies within the microwave range, which act on specific hydrocarbon materials.
(New Scientist; June 26, 2007) (See Slashdot
discussion)
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Recycling
- Waste
to Energy / Plastic > Tire
Recycling Breakthrough - Delta
Energy's DEPolymerization
process takes one of the world's biggest pollution problems -
discarded tires - and turns them into usable fuel, made possible by a
secret chemical compound. 99% of the original tire is turned into
something useful, from natural gas to diesel fuel to carbon that can
be reused in the rubber and plastics industry. (KXNet.com; Nov.
12, 2007)
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Non-Oil-Based Plastic
Toward reducing our dependence on oil
- US
Survey: 70+% of Americans Don't Know Plastic is Made from Oil
- 40% believe plastic will biodegrade at some point. In truth,
nearly 10 percent of U.S. oil consumption
approximately 2 million barrels a day is
used to make non-biodegradable plastic. Survey was cosponsored
by Metabolix, Inc.,
a company using bioscience to provide clean solutions for plastics,
fuels and chemicals. (BusinessWire; Apr. 20, 2007)
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New
Bio Plastics from DuPont - More biopolymers are approaching
commercial viability, adding to latex rubber and nylon-11 (made from a
by-product of castor bean oil), which presently account for only a
small fraction of the millions of polymer products in use today. (TreeHugger;
July 6, 2006)
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- Potatoes
Could be Used for Bioplastics - A report by the University of Maine's Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center says the state's potato industry could benefit by becoming a producer of
bioplastics, which are made from plant starch rather than crude oil and petroleum products.
Bioplastics can be used to produce carpeting, upholstery fabric and recyclable plastic bottles, the report said.
(PhysOrg; June 7, 2007)
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- China's
Bio-Chem to Harvest Plastics From Corn - With oil costing more
than ever before, Global Bio-Chem Technology Group Co. Ltd., the
world's third-largest corn processor, is pinning its hopes on turning
the grain into polyester and plastics. (Reuters; Apr. 24, 2006)
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- Natural
Plastic - U.S. manufactures 100 billion pounds of
plastics a year, non-biodegradable. Metabolics is
creating plastics from biological (bacterial engineering) processes,
from corn sugar; fully biodegradable; partnering with Archer Daniels
Midland. (DiscoveryChannel.ca; April 21,
2005)
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- Waste
Plastic Becomes Clean Burning Fuel - Penn. State University has
developed PlastoFuel pellets from dirty waste Agri-plastics. GR
Technologies of Korea has patented burner converting same to alternative
energy. (Blogspot; June 6, 2005)
- Plastics > Huge
potential for bioplastics - It almost sounds too good to be
true - turning cow pats into plastic. But the unlikely-looking liquid
in the flask Dr Steven Pratt holds is the key ingredient to an
environmentally friendlier drink bottle. (PhysOrg; July 17,
2006)
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- 'Plastic
oil' could improve fuel economy in cars, chemists say - Recycled
plastic bottles could one day be used to lubricate your car's engine. These
polyethylene-derived oils could help improve fuel economy and reduce the
frequency of oil changes. (EurekAlert; June 12, 2005)
- Bacteria
are key to 'green' plastics, drugs - Scientists are using a
genetically modified bacteria that metabolizes glucose from grain sorghum
and produces almost pure succinate, a key ingredient of many plastics,
drugs, solvents and food additives. (EurekAlert; Aug. 22, 2005)
In Other Alt Energy Applications
Solar
- XsunX
Developing Solar Film for Buildings' Windows - See-through
thin film plastic Power Glass integrates solar collection
capabilities in a cost-comparable substrate to existing film products,
taking energy gain into consideration. (PESN; June 9) (Thanks
Sandi)
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Other
- New
Plastic to Cut CO2 Emissions and Purify Water - Scientists have created a plastic material
that mimics pores found in plants and is exceptionally efficient. It can separate carbon dioxide from natural gas a few hundred times faster than current plastic membranes.
(Slashdot; Oct. 15, 2007)
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Related Directories
See also
Page created by Sterling
D. Allan August 24, 2005
Last updated May 01, 2008
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