Skip to main content
Home

Dedicated to discovery

  • Company
    • About us
    • Careers
    • Events
  • Support
    • Laboratory Planning
    • Register a Product
    • Register Your Product (USA & Canada Only)
  • Contact
  • U.S.A.
  • Deutschland
  • España
  • France
  • Italia
  • Brasil
  • 日本
  • 中国
Home
  • Products
    • PURELAB®
      • PURELAB® Quest
      • PURELAB® Pharma Compliance
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1 Complete
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1
      • PURELAB® Chorus 2
      • PURELAB® Chorus 2 +
      • PURELAB® Chorus 3
      • PURELAB® flex 1
      • PURELAB® flex 2
      • PURELAB® flex 3
      • PURELAB® flex 4
      • PURELAB® flex 5
    • CENTRA®
      • CENTRA® R60/120
      • CENTRA® R200
      • CENTRA® RDS
    • MEDICA®
      • MEDICA® 7/15
      • MEDICA® Pro-R & Pro-RE
      • MEDICA® R200
      • MEDICA® EDI 15/30
      • MEDICA® Pro-LPS
      • MEDICA® Pro EDI 60/120
      • MEDICA® BIOX
      • Hubgrade
    • BIOPURE®
      • BIOPURE® 300/600
    • ELGA Full Product Range
  • Applications
    • Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
    • Cell and Tissue Culture
    • Clinical Biochemistry
    • Electrochemistry
    • Gas Chromatography
    • General lab water requirement
    • Immunochemistry
    • Liquid Chromatography
    • Mass Spectrometry
    • Microbiology
    • Molecular Biology
    • Spectrophotometry
  • Technologies
    • Activated Carbon
    • Electrodeionization (EDI)
    • Filtration
    • Ion Exchange
    • PureSure
    • Reverse Osmosis
    • Ultraviolet
  • Impurities In Water
    • Dissolved Gases
    • Inorganic Compounds
    • Microorganisms & Bacteria
    • Organic Compounds
    • Particulates
  • Knowledge
    • Blog
    • Case Studies
    • Ultrapure water
    • Guides and White Papers
  • Where to buy
  • Contact us
Home
  • Contact us
  • Products
    • PURELAB®
      • PURELAB® Quest
      • PURELAB® Pharma Compliance
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1 Complete
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1
      • PURELAB® Chorus 2
      • PURELAB® Chorus 2 +
      • PURELAB® Chorus 3
      • PURELAB® flex 1
      • PURELAB® flex 2
      • PURELAB® flex 3
      • PURELAB® flex 4
      • PURELAB® flex 5
    • CENTRA®
      • CENTRA® R60/120
      • CENTRA® R200
      • CENTRA® RDS
    • MEDICA®
      • MEDICA® 7/15
      • MEDICA® Pro-R & Pro-RE
      • MEDICA® R200
      • MEDICA® EDI 15/30
      • MEDICA® Pro-LPS
      • MEDICA® Pro EDI 60/120
      • MEDICA® BIOX
      • Hubgrade
    • BIOPURE®
      • BIOPURE® 300/600
    • ELGA Full Product Range
  • Applications
    • Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
    • Cell and Tissue Culture
    • Clinical Biochemistry
    • Electrochemistry
    • Gas Chromatography
    • General lab water requirement
    • Immunochemistry
    • Liquid Chromatography
    • Mass Spectrometry
    • Microbiology
    • Molecular Biology
    • Spectrophotometry
  • Technologies
    • Activated Carbon
    • Electrodeionization (EDI)
    • Filtration
    • Ion Exchange
    • PureSure
    • Reverse Osmosis
    • Ultraviolet
  • Impurities In Water
    • Dissolved Gases
    • Inorganic Compounds
    • Microorganisms & Bacteria
    • Organic Compounds
    • Particulates
  • Knowledge
    • Blog
    • Case Studies
    • Ultrapure water
    • Guides and White Papers
  • Where to buy
  • Contact us
  • Company
    • About us
    • Careers
    • Events
  • Support
    • Laboratory Planning
    • Register a Product
    • Register Your Product (USA & Canada Only)
  • Contact
  • U.S.A.
  • Deutschland
  • España
  • France
  • Italia
  • Brasil
  • 日本
  • 中国
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Global Legal Compliance
  • Patents
  • Trademarks
  • Impressum

Let's talk about lab water

  • Categories
    • Analytical Chemistry
    • Biotechnology
    • Clinical & Pharma
    • Cool Science
    • Environment & Sustainability
    • Future Science
    • Life in The Lab
    • Life Science Results
    • PURELAB Product Design
    • Science of the Future
    • Water In The Lab
    • Water Purity
  • Authors
    • ELGA Editorial Team_cloned
    • ELGA Editorial Team
    • Natasha Zarach
    • Dr Paul Whitehead
    • Dr Alison Halliday
    • John Walker
Environment & Sustainability
Analytical Chemistry

Upcycling Plastic Bottles into Hydrogels

27 Sep 2021
- by Dr Alison Halliday

Bottle Plant

Researchers explore a new way to convert polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic waste into value-added materials with potentially versatile applications.

While plastics can bring convenience to our daily lives, plastic waste can persist in ecosystems causing serious damage. Landfill and incineration, which are commonly used for the treatment of plastic waste, considerably contribute to carbon dioxide emissions. Pollution of marine environments by microplastics caused by the slow breakdown of plastic litter is another global concern. 

One efficient way to eliminate ever-increasing plastic waste is to convert it into useful materials – a process known as upcycling. To ensure the green and sustainable use of fossil resources, there is an increasing demand for robust methods for plastic upcycling, yet possible chemical technologies are still limited by basic synthetic processes.

Creating Functional Materials

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a clear, strong and lightweight plastic widely used for food and drinks packaging, especially bottles containing soft drinks, juice or water. 

The depolymerisation of PET through chemical reactions is the essential first step in the upcycling process – generating intermediate products used for synthesising more functional materials. 

Hydrogels are 3D networks of hydrophilic polymers that can hold a large amount of water while maintaining their structure. Due to properties such as hydrophilicity, controllable swelling, modifiability and high absorption capacity, these materials have many applications in various processes from industrial to biological – including as adsorbents for dye removal.

Two-Step Conversion

In a new study, published in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, researchers develop a method to convert waste PET bottles to a water-based hydrogel by chemical cross-linking of PET aminolysis products.1

The researchers carried out aminolysis on PET samples obtained from waste soft drink bottles. They then prepared a mechanically stable hydrogel by cross-linking the water-soluble oligomeric products with ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE). They then studied the absorption properties of the PET–derived hydrogels towards two typical industrial dyes using UV–vis spectroscopy – demonstrating high removal rates of Congo Red. 

The researchers used ultrapure water generated from an ELGA PURELAB® Chorus 1 laboratory water purification system for their experiments, minimising the risk of adding contaminants that may affect their results.

A New Upcycling Solution

In this study, a hydrogel material was prepared by a complete conversion of PET bottle plastic to intermediate water-soluble building blocks via aminolysis followed by chemical cross-linking. 

The transformation of a petrochemical–derived polymer to a water-based hydrogel offers a promising new way to turn plastic waste into an environmentally–friendly functional material. While the researchers demonstrated one possible application as an absorbent for the removal of an industrial dye, it is anticipated that applications in other fields that require water-based materials will soon be identified.

This is the first example of PET waste conversion to a hydrogel material, which may help to broaden the scope of potential uses for this plastic waste. Although the process will require further optimisation, these results highlight the potential of the approach as a strategy for plastic waste removal.

Why Choose ELGA LabWater?

ELGA’s expert engineers, chemists and scientists are at the forefront of technological innovation. We continue to introduce game-changing features to the laboratory water market.
 

Reference:

  1. Chan, K & Zinchenko A. Conversion of waste bottles’ PET to a hydrogel adsorbent via PET aminolysis. J Environ Chem Eng 2021;9(5):106129 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.106129 

Dr Alison Halliday

After completing an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry & Genetics at Sheffield University, Alison was awarded a PhD in Human Molecular Genetics at the University of Newcastle. She carried out five years as a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UCL, investigating the genes involved in childhood obesity syndrome. Moving into science communications, she spent ten years at Cancer Research UK engaging the public about the charity’s work. She now specialises in writing about research across the life sciences, medicine and health.

Download our Going Green Report Now

Are lab water impurities compromising your research on environmental water contaminants?

Learn how fellow reserachers are contributing to the fight against water contaminants

              Download your copy of the full report here

 

Explore more from our blog

23 May 2023
The importance of lab biosafety
16 May 2023
Harnessing the power of nanotechnology for wound healing
15 May 2023
Monitoring drug adherence in leukaemia
3 May 2023
Reinstwasser für Pharma QC-Labore: Das sind die drei größten Herausforderungen
14 Apr 2023
Monitoring patients on cholesterol-lowering drugs
10 Apr 2023
Inhaled ‘fat bubbles’ to deliver lung cancer drug
27 Mar 2023
How does a plant-based diet affect the mineral content of breast milk?
9 Mar 2023
Identifying antibacterial compounds in industrial hemp

Blog Categories

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Biotechnology
  • Clinical & Pharma
  • Cool Science
  • Environment & Sustainability
  • Future Science
  • Life in The Lab
  • Life Science Results
  • PURELAB Product Design
  • Science of the Future
  • Water In The Lab
  • Water Purity
  • Enquiry
  • Get a Quote
  • Book a Demo
  • Find an Approved Partner

Enquiry

Please check this to confirm that you have read our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Get a Quote

Please check this to confirm that you have read our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Book a Demo

Please check this to confirm that you have read our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Call us

Can't find what you are looking for?

Support Number
+44 (0)20 3567 7300
United Kingdom Sales
+44 (0)1628 879 704
United States of America Sales
+1 877-315-3542
France Sales
+33 1 40 83 65 00
China Sales
+86 400-616-8882

 

ELGA LabWater US Headquarters

ELGA LabWater North America
5 Earl Ct Suite 100
Woodridge, IL 60517
USA

Tel: 630-343-5251

ELGA LabWater UK Headquarters

Lane End Business Park
Lane End, High Wycombe
HP14 3BY
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0) 203 567 7300
F: +44 (0) 203 567 7205

Case Studies

  • Abbott Diagnostics
  • DASA Medical Diagnostics
  • NeoDIN Medical Institute
  • North Staffordshire NHS Trust
  • Olsberg Vocational College

Resources

  • Learn About Ultrapure Water
  • Guides and White Papers
  • Purification Technologies
  • Applications
  • Impurities In Water

Blogs

  • Latest Blog
  • Water Purity - Different Types of Pure Water
  • What is Clinical Laboratory Reagent Water (CLSI)?
  • What is Total Organic Carbon (TOC)?

© VWS (UK) Ltd. trading as ELGA LabWater. 2023 - All rights reserved.
ELGA is the global laboratory water brand name of Veolia.

  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Global Legal Compliance
  • Patents
  • Trademarks
  • Impressum
  • Language
    • Deutsch
    • English
    • Español
    • Français
    • Italiano
    • Português
    • 日本語
    • 中文
  • Other Veolia Sites
    • Veolia
    • Veolia Foundation
    • Veolia Water Technologies
Elga Veolia
TOP

© 2017 ELGA Veolia