China – researchers turn waste into cost-cutting resin

Scientists at East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) have worked out a waste-recycle technology to turn plastic waste such as coke bottles into corrosion-proof substances for chemical-industry use.



China.org cites the Shanghai Daily and reports that the technology, which has been awarded a national patent and won one of the city‘‘s top invention prizes, is expected to cut anti-corrosion material production costs by 70 percent, university officials said. The secret lies in the raw material‘‘s treatment formula and catalyst selection.



Researchers at ECUST Huachang Polymer Co Ltd, one of the university‘‘s subsidiary entity, collected coke bottles and other waste polyester material for isolation and purification and finally turned it into new synthetic resin – a major component for corrosion-proof chemical substances.



The synthetic resin can be molded into different shapes of utensils, containers and pipes to hold and transport corrosive liquids such as acid in chemical and industrial factories.



"The biggest achievement of our project is that it provides an economic solution to the country‘‘s anti-corrosion material manufacturing and at the same time, cutting environmental pollution," said Hou Ruigang, Huachang‘‘s deputy engineer-in-chief.



Previously, most of the corrosion-proof materials were made directly from first-hand materials. That pushed production costs to about 10,000 yuan (US$1,302) per ton.



China‘‘s output of polyester – which is widely used in making plastic beverage bottles – is four million tons a year. Most of the polyester waste is not recycled, posing a big threat to the environment, Hou said