Plastics could see a second life as biodegradable surfactants

Image caption: Long hydrocarbon chains of polymers are broken into shorter units with the introduction of aluminum end groups. Credit: U.S. Department of Energy, Ames Laboratory. Article provided by Ames Laboratory. Phys.org – April 15, 2021.

Scientists at the Institute for Cooperative Upcycling of Plastics (iCOUP), an Energy Frontier Research Center led by Ames Laboratory, have discovered a chemical process that provides biodegradable, valuable chemicals, which are used as surfactants and detergents in a range of applications, from discarded plastics. The process has the potential to create more sustainable and economically favorable lifecycles for plastics. […]

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