Bringing Photodegradation of Plastics into the “Green Age”

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2022

Authors

Akinniyi, Akinwande S.
Salazar, Gustavo A.

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Abstract

With the growing issue of plastic pollution found in e-waste around the world, many methods of management have surged to deal with this alarming rate of growth. One recent example is the use of photochemical degradation as a way of breaking down complex polymers such as those found in the category 7 of the resin code. While photodegradation of these polymers has seen significant findings over the years, it remains economically costly, and limited to the laboratory scale. This project introduces the science behind photodegradation of plastics in category 7 and shares significant findings from previous studies; furthermore, it shows the preliminary findings of our own implementation of gravity-light as a potential “greener” alternative to typical photochemical methodologies.

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