Hydrogen is viewed as a promising alternative to fossil fuel, but the methods used to make it either generate too much carbon dioxide or are too expensive. Rice University researchers have found a way to harvest hydrogen from plastic waste using a low-emissions method that could more than pay for itself.

Making hydrogen from waste plastic could pay for itself::Hydrogen is viewed as a promising alternative to fossil fuel, but the methods used to make it either generate too much carbon dioxide or are too expensive. Rice University researchers have found a way to harvest hydrogen …

  • treefrog@lemm.eeEnglish
    203·
    10 months ago

    Would be nice to see more plastic actually recycled.

    Of course, not sure how many microplastics this process leaves behind. I have some biodegradable plastic bags for mycology sitting on a shelf because I don’t want to be feeding my vermicompost microplastic.

    • BlueBockser@programming.devEnglish
      91·
      10 months ago

      Yeah, microplastics seem to be overlooked too often when people talk about plastic recycling “solutions”. The worst one I’ve ever seen was a video where they cut a plastic bottle into strands and then made a broom out of them…

      • ForgotAboutDre@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6·
        10 months ago

        It’s much better than making a new broom out of plastic. It also avoids carbon melting the plastic into pellets then remelting into a new mold.

  • DreamButt@lemmy.worldEnglish
    111·
    10 months ago

    Crazy that people always forget it’s Reduce, Reuse, and only then recycle. Like great let’s collect all the plastic from the ocean and repurpose it but if we keep dumping more into the ocean only to recycle it later we really aren’t solving the core issue

    • mint_tamas@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      10 months ago

      Also, avoiding waste entirely is the only sustainable solution. Recycled plastic items are inferior in quality and then end up in the ocean as microplastics.