NEW METHOD TO HELP FORD RECYCLE MORE THAN 25% OF CAR PLASTIC

This project, led by chemist James Tour and graduate student Kevin Wyss at Rice University in the US, focuses on recycling plastic waste from expired ford's cars into graphene and regenerating foam into graphene again.

Detailed tests show that the graphene-reinforced polyurethane foam has 34% improved tensile strength and 25% higher low-frequency noise absorption. All of these advantages are achieved with only a 0.1% difference in the weight of graphene, according to the study published in the journal Communications Engineering on May 26.

Ph.D. student Kevin Wyss holds a bottle of graphene and a piece of polyurethane foam. Photo by: Jeff Fitlow

“Ford sent us 4.5 kg of mixed plastic waste from a used car shredder. We converted the plastic into graphene through a process of rapid heating with a high current and transferred them back to the Ford. They put the graphene into the new polyurethane foam composite, then send it to us to turn it back into graphene again. It's a great example of circular recycling" emphasized Tour.

In this experiment, Tour and his colleagues heated the plastic mixture to nearly 5,000°F, or 2,760°C, evaporating everything but graphene. The rapid heating with a high current is also environmentally friendly, as it uses no solvents and requires only a relatively small amount of energy to create graphene. Calculations show that the new method could help Ford reduce the volume of plastic waste by 25.5%.

The plastic used in vehicles has increased by 75% in the last 6 years only. An SUV averagely holds up to 350 kg of plastic and if not recycled, it will be left in landfills for centuries.

With around 10 million vehicles thrown away each year, the circular recycling process developed by Tour's team can significantly reduce the impact of vehicles on the environment.

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