SCIENCE
Hey presto! Cambridge scientists have found a way to convert plastics and CO 2 into sustainable fuels using solar power
Around 400 million tonnes of plastic waste is produced globally each year, equivalent to the weight of every human being combined. But only nine per cent is recycled. Now, a team of scientists may have found a gamechanging solution.
Current chemical recycling processes to convert plastic into fuels require high temperatures and are costly to run – they also produce their own set of emissions. The rest is contained in landfills or burned, or left to clog up our rivers, beaches and oceans.
But, what if all of the plastic we used could be recycled for another purpose using a system powered by renewable energy? That’s what a team of researchers from the University of Cambridge has achieved after four years of trying.
Now, a system to convert plastic waste and greenhouse gases into sustainable fuels at the same time is possible – and it is completely solar-powered.
“A solar-driven technology that could help to address plastic pollution and greenhouse gases at the same time could be a game-changer in the development of a circular economy,” said Subhajit Bhattacharjee, the paper’s co-first author.
But how does it actually work?
“It’s a solar-power reactor and it has two compartments. The first converts carbon dioxide to different fuels,” Bhattacharjee, a PhD scholar in the department of chemistry at St. John’s College, told The Big Issue.
“Generally, CO2 conversion requires a lot of energy, but with our system, basically you just shine a light at it, and it starts converting harmful products into something useful
