Eliminate the toxicity of plastic and turn it into a product to treat the world's oceans.
At www.seahorsepoint.org in Panama, plastic is continually washed up on the beaches and mangroves; the same situation is happening in all coastal countries. The colour of the plastic is predominantly blue, with green and red taking second place.
Blue plastic will survive exposure to UV irradiation better than other colours, so perhaps it would be a good idea to change the colour of plastic bottle tops to black. Thermoplastics will turn into micro- and then nanoplastics after a few years of floating around in the oceans. But given the quantity of plastic, the damage inflicted on marine life, the life support system for the planet and climate disruption is catastrophic.
Having worked on photocatalysts such as ferric chloride, and given that ferric is used to catalyse the breakdown of plastic in some recycling systems, I have had an idea.
Manufacturers of plastic bottles are not going to shift to other materials; they are risk averse, and the cost of changing would be too great. However, if a very small amount of ferric chloride was incorporated into the plastic polymer, it should not interfere with the transparency, colour or stability of the plastic. However, when the plastic is exposed to sunlight for an extended period of time, photocatalytic reactions with the ferric will oxidise the plastic back to carbon dioxide. The ferric could also oxidise some of the toxins in the plastic and in the water. The ferric will then act as a micro-nutrient for phytoplankton.
This has the potential to eliminate one of the most polluting substances in the world and threat to marine life and humanity, and turn it into a fertilizer. The catalytic reactions will also help to eliminate toxic chemicals… any comments….
https://lnkd.in/ev6_2cXN
connection to the Linkedin Post; https://www.linkedin.com/posts/goesfoundation_eliminate-the-toxicity-of-plastic-and-turn-activity-7404656473068290048-3CUm?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAOQu-oB7hEBm20JEG4zlqSiL7lBeHCWG2A
