Flash Graphene from Plastic Waste

Algozeeb, Wala A.; Savas, Paul E.; Luong, Duy Xuan; Chen, Weiyin; Kittrell, Carter; Bhat, Mahesh; Shahsavari, Rouzbeh; Tour, James M.

doi:10.1021/acsnano.0c06328

Flash Graphene from Plastic Waste

Journal Article · Thu Oct 29 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · ACS Nano

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c06328· OSTI ID:1798504

Algozeeb, Wala A. ^[1]; Savas, Paul E. ^[2]; ^[2]; Chen, Weiyin ^[2]; ^[2]; Bhat, Mahesh ^[3]; Shahsavari, Rouzbeh ^[3]; ^[2]

Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States); Rice University
Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States)
C-Crete Technologies, Stafford, TX (United States)

In this work, an approach to upcycling plastic waste (PW) products is presented. The method relies on flash Joule heating (FJH) to convert PW into flash graphene (FG). In addition to FG, the process results in the formation of carbon oligomers, hydrogen, and light hydrocarbons. In order to make high quality graphene, a sequential alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) flash is used. Here, the FJH process requires no catalyst and works for PW mixtures, which makes the process suitable for handling landfill PW. The energy required to convert PW to FG is ~ 23 kJ/g or ~ $125 in electricity per ton of PW, potentially making this process economically attractive for scale-up. The FG was characterized by Raman spectroscopy and had a I_2D/I_G peak ratio up to 6 with a low-intensity D band. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis show that the FG is turbostratic with an interlayer spacing of 3.45 Å. The large interlayer spacing will facilitate its dispersion in liquids and composites. Analysis of FG dispersions in 1% Pluronic aqueous solution shows that concentrations up to 1.2 mg/mL can be achieved. The carbon oligomers that distilled from the process were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and have chemical structures similar to the starting PW. Initial analysis of gas phase products shows the formation of considerable amounts of hydrogen along with other light hydrocarbons. Since graphene is naturally occurring and it shows a low toxicity profile, this could be an environmentally beneficial method to upcycle PE.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: FE0031794

OSTI ID:: 1798504

Journal Information:: ACS Nano, Journal Name: ACS Nano Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 14; ISSN 1936-0851

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
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