NiMH No.7 batteries

　　Turning waste into treasure, US researchers turn waste plastic into NiMH No.7 batteries anodes

　　American researchers have proposed a new method for waste plastic disposal. A paper published by the American Chemical Society shows how researchers at Purdue University in Indiana can extract pure carbon from waste plastic and turn it into anode material for lithium-ion batteries that power toy trucks. The team claims the method can be easily scaled. If so, plastic waste may find a new direction for upgraded products in the photovoltaic industry, as collocated storage becomes increasingly common. In addition, the development of electric vehicles may create a sizable market for this anode material. According to reports, the research team immersed high-density and low-density PE (i.e. Ziploc bags and other household plastics) in sulfuric acid H2SO4 at a concentration of 1g:20ml. The mixture was then placed in a solvothermal Parr reactor and heated for 12 hours at 110 degrees Celsius, below the temperature at which PE is converted to harmful gases without conversion to valuable carbon products (115-135 degrees Celsius). After the reaction, the carbon flakes built into the reaction vessel were washed with deionized water and dried. The product was then carbonized in a crucible under a flow of argon at 900 degrees Celsius. The resulting material is processed in an agate mortar to form a powder. This method produced a mass yield of 65±5% for low density PE and 54±3% for high density materials. The powder was then pressed into carbon chips for use in lithium-ion NiMH No.7 batteries anodes, which produced 230 and 350 mAh/g specific capacities for low-density and high-density PE respectively when cycled at C-rate 5 at room temperature. When cycled at 50 degrees Celsius, the anode produced capacities of 290 and 440 mAh/g. The researchers say the method produces NiMH No.7 batteries anodes that are competitive with commercially available products. Hundreds of millions of tons of plastic are produced around the world every year, and most of it (more than 85%) ends up in landfills or oceans. Landfilling plastic releases toxic chemicals into the environment, much of which is still released in the ocean. By 2050, there are expected to be more plastics than fish in the world's oceans. Polyethylene (PE), in particular, contains colorants, dyes, labels and sticky additives that make recycling more difficult, and incineration has low energy recovery and is expensive because air emission controls are required and the by-product ash is often hazardous waste.

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