IIT Madras develops an eco-friendly way to degrade plastics

17 Sep 2019

IIT Madras develops an eco-friendly way to degrade plastics

IIT Madras develops an eco-friendly way to degrade plasticsAs the world is struggling to deal with plastic pollution, some good news has emerged.

A team at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, (IIT - Madras) has invented an eco-friendly method to break down plastics. This method will degrade plastics which are physically stable and chemically inactive.

A team led by T. Pradeep from the Department of Chemistry conducted this study and its results were published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

According to the study, the newly invented eco-friendly method will degrade plastics, namely fluoropolymer — polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) which is used in making Teflon (used as a non-stick coating for pans and other cookware).
 	The method was invented by using a scientific process involving metals, glucose, magnetic stirrer coated with Teflon and other sugars.
 	The findings suggested that the triboelectric effect* breaks the plastics into smaller molecules. 
 	After hearing of this new invention, the Minister of State (Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises), Arjun Ram Meghwal has advised IIT-Madras to also invent an alternative to single-use plastic.

This method will also strengthen the recent decision by the government to ban single-use plastic.

* Triboelectric effect: It is a type of contact electrification in which certain materials become electrically charged after they are separated from a different material with which they were in contact

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