MOSCOW, 25 Apr. Using plastic waste using a detonation wave was proposed by researchers from the Yenisei Siberia Research and Education Center. In their opinion, this contributes to the maximum decomposition of materials without the release of toxic compounds, the press service of the Siberian Federal University reported.
Modern methods of recycling and recycling plastic waste do not completely destroy all unnecessary plastic. After processing, part of the waste remains in the form of a thick mixture of shredded plastic — solid particles with a diameter of less than 5 mm mixed with glue, paper and other materials.
According to scientists from the REC «Yenisei Siberia», this is an extremely dangerous type of plastic waste, the most common in water and soil. It enters the body of animals and humans through water, air and food, poisoning entire food chains, and its amount is growing every year.
One of the most dangerous sources of microplastics is waste that accumulates in remote areas. Collecting plastic in such regions is not economically viable due to logistical costs. Today, all over the world, such waste is stored in large landfills.
Siberian scientists have proposed to fight the contamination of the environment with microplastics by destroying them during an explosion. Detonation and combustion are processes that are similar in nature, but differ in the conditions of the course and the result. The incinerators maintain a temperature of 1200 °C at a pressure of about 1 atm, while in the front of the detonation wave the temperature is more than 3000 °C and the pressure exceeds 50,000 atm.
“There are seven categories of plastic: six of them can be decomposed by our method into carbon dioxide and water. The most difficult to recycle are plastics of the seventh type, which, in addition to oxygen, carbon and hydrogen atoms, contain inclusions of chlorine and fluorine. We can also recycle such plastic, at the same time, salts will be obtained that will not harm nature,” said Sergey Kostylev, head of the complex scientific and technical program Industrial Explosive Technologies.
According to him, it is not necessary to arrange explosions specifically for the disposal of plastic. Small amounts of this waste can be added to explosives in drilling and blasting operations, and if the concentration of plastic is chosen correctly, the explosive characteristics of the detonation mixture will not be affected.
In this case, scientists believe, it is possible to achieve the maximum degree of decomposition of the polymer bases of plastic into simple substances, and without releasing toxic combustion products — carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere.
«We propose such a scheme : if a waste processing plant cannot dispose of something, then let it be crushed, dried and given to us — we can figure it out,» Kostylev added.
Siberian Federal University on the initiative of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Republics of Khakassia and Tyva, is aimed at improving the environmental situation in Russia and decarbonizing industry. The REC includes 9 universities, 5 research institutes and 14 industrial enterprises.