A team of Northwestern researchers recently published a study in the journal Angewandte Chemie, demonstrating how a metal-organic framework (MOF) is used to “break down polyester-based plastic into its component parts.” Their research can potentially be used to improve the recycling process and provide new solutions for plastic waste in landfills.
Omar Farha, the Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry and member of the International Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern, is the corresponding author of the study. According to Farha, the researchers’ method for breaking down plastics is less expensive and more efficient than standard procedures.
“We can do a lot better than starting from scratch when making plastic bottles,” said Farha. Our process is much cleaner.”
“The MOF performed even better than we anticipated,” Farha continued. “We found the catalyst to be very selective and robust. Neither the color of the plastic bottle or the different plastic the bottle caps were made from affected the efficiency of the catalyst. And the method doesn’t require organic solvents, which is a plus.”
Read the study: “Catalytic Degradation of Polyethylene Terephthalate Using a Phase-Transitional Zirconium-Based Metal-Organic Framework.”
Learn more in Northwestern Now’s article, “Method efficiently breaks down plastic bottles into component parts.”