Polyrecycling
Ohio University
Polystyrene, the material used in Styrofoam coffee cups, may soon be turned into clothing thanks to a team based at Ohio University. They found a way to harness naturally-derived monomers to produce ‘green plastics’ through a method that allows for the selective uptake of polystyrene. The high moldability of the polymer resins means they can then be reshaped to create a variety of new products, for example spun into textiles or used as material in 3D printers to create products such as medical devices. Once the product is discarded, the materials can either selectively or naturally degrade, with the polystyrene and reactive monomers being isolated for repeated use in the production process.
The Ohio University Team:
