What are PDKs and how could they change plastics in the future?

Called poly(diketoenamine), or PDK, the material has all the convenient properties of traditional plastics while avoiding the environmental pitfalls, because unlike traditional plastics, PDKs can be recycled indefinitely with no loss in quality. “Plastics were never designed to be recycled.

How is a PDK recycled?

While PDK plastics likely could be recycled mechanically, their design makes them ideal for the chemical recycling process. “The monomers can then be separated from any additives and gathered to make new plastics without any loss of quality,” state the researchers.

Can polymers be recycled?

Polymers do slightly break down as they are recycled — but this minor degradation is easily countered by mixing in calculated amounts of ‘virgin’ (new) plastic.

Which type of plastic can be recycled again?

A recycled house built by the Plastics For Change Foundation in Karnataka, India. HDPE is accepted at most recycling centers in the world, as it is one of the easiest plastic polymers to recycle. Recycling companies will usually collect HDPE products and send them to large facilities to be processed.

Why can polymers be recycled?

One way of classifying polymers is to break them up into two classes. Since thermoplastic polymers can be melted and reformed, they are easily recycled. However, their properties do degrade with each reuse.

Why are some polymers recyclable?

Most of the plastics we use are either thermoplastic or thermosetting. Thermoplastics include acrylics, nylon and polyethylene (polythene). As you heat them up they get soft, so they can be shaped into any form you like, which also makes them easy to recycle.

Which material can be recycled again and again?

Aluminum cans are one of the most recyclable materials, as they are 100\% recyclable and can be reprocessed over and over again2. Turning recycled aluminum cans into new cans uses 95\% less energy than making new ones.

Can plastic be recycled over and over again forever?

Believe it or not, most plastics can only be recycled once or twice before they are downcycled, which means they are recycled into something of a lesser value. So, if plastic is downcycled to create a fleece sweater, that sweater may eventually end up in a landfill somewhere when the owner no longer wants it.

Will we use plastic in the future?

The International Energy Agency (IEA) also predicts that plastic production will continue to grow in the next twenty years, indicating that it could reach 540 million metric tonnes by 2040. Similarly, large oil producers also believe that the production of plastics will form an ever larger part of their business.