Researchers turn plastic pollution into cleaners

said braka 7:58 AM
The paper published in ACS Applied Materials and

Interfaces by a joint UK and Brazilian research team describes how synthetic dyes, used in the clothing industry world-wide, could be treated by the plastic found in packaging and cutlery - polystyrene.
A smart new material is produced from polystyrene by the novel method of freezing and expanding to a state where is can support nanoparticles. In a solid state it can then be used to remove harmful synthetic dyes, which are known to be carcinogenic and act as chronic reproductive toxins to humans and animals.
University of Bristol School of Chemistry Professor Julian Eastoe worked on the project with Professor Rodrigo J de Oliveira from Paraba State University, Brazil. Professor Eastoe commented:
"With the recently released BBC series 'Blue Planet II' highlighting the scale of plastic debris (so-called "white pollution") in the oceans, developing processes to breakdown, recycle or re-use waste plastics is of critical importance.
"This research suggests a promising approach to turn some of the vast amounts of plastic white pollution into a resource for tackling environmental damage elsewhere in the form of   for treatment.


Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-03-plastic-pollution-cleaners.html#jCp