Used diapers recycled into adhesive for stickers and bandages

Every year, 3.5 million metric tons of used diapers end up in landfills. Superabsorbent

the material inside these diapers consists ofpolymer matrices that expand when exposed to moisture. Polymers are a long chain of repeating units, and in this case the absorbent material is a polymer of polyacrylic acid.

To recycle diapers, the most common method you can use is mechanical: the plastic is crushed into pieces, melted and reused, but this reduces the quality of the new product. 

The authors of the new work propose to use forChemical recycling of diapers is when you use chemical compounds to transform one material into another, but without compromising the functionality. The researchers were working on a three-step process that would turn superabsorbent polymers into a reusable material, in this case an adhesive. This method must be energy efficient and suitable for use on an industrial scale.

To recycle polymers, researchers needwas to find a way to split the network polymer into water-soluble chains. In the course of the work, it turned out that when these polymers are heated with an acid, their cross-links are broken.

As a result, the authors compared their new methodrecycling with conventional glue production: it was found that energy consumption when using recycled diapers for glue production was found to be reduced by 25%.

Read more

Japanese scientists presented a method of moving objects with sound waves

Russia and the United States have Doomsday planes: how and where they will fly in the event of the end of the world

For the first time in history, 9 stars disappeared in half an hour and did not return