Microplastics have been found in human placenta
More evidence that we're drowning in microplastic particles.
24 December, 2020
Credit: dottedyeti/Adobe Stock
- Italian researchers have discovered microplastic particles in human placenta.
- Out of six collected placentas, four contained colored plastic microparticles.
- That petrochemical pollutants are present in such a critically important organ is alarming.
<p>For the last few years, researchers have become increasingly alarmed at the degree to which microplastics—bits of plastic that are smaller than 5 millimeters in length—have invaded, well, basically everywhere and everything. In 2018, a small sampling of eight people from around the world found that <a href="https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/microplastics-in-human-stool" target="_self">all eight</a> of them had microplastics in their stools; another study that same year found microplastics up and down the <a href="https://bigthink.com/robby-berman/hungry-fish-result-in-microplastics-on-our-plates" target="_self">marine food chain</a>. Researchers in 2019 found them in <a href="https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/scientists-find-microplastics-in-all-of-10-species-tested" target="_self">100 percent</a> of the whales, dolphins, and seals tested. Now a new study has found microplastics in human placentas, meaning that humans are now being exposed to bits of petrochemical waste as early as the womb.</p><p>The new research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412020322297" target="_blank">Science Direct</a>.</p>
The study
<p>The authors of the Italian study collected placentas from six mothers. They did this in a plastic-free environment so as to avoid contamination. Doctors and midwives wearing cotton gloves performed the collection from mothers covered only in cotton towels. Metal clippers and scalpels were used.</p><p>The six placentas were evaluated using microspectroscopy. Samples from four of the placentas contained colored microplastics. A total of 12 pieces, between 5 and 10 micrometers, were collected — at this size, the contaminants were small enough to be carried in the mother's or child's bloodstream.</p><p>Considering that the samples constituted just about 4 percent of the organs, it's reasonable to suspect that the researchers' findings represent just the tip of the iceberg.</p><p>Four of the pieces were found in tissues on the maternal side, the outside of the placenta, and five were found in the space in which the fetus had been. The remaining three were located in the fine membrane wall surrounding the amniotic fluid in the placenta.</p><p>All of the microplastics were colored, dyed red, blue, orange, and pink, but beyond that the researchers were only partially able to identify the materials with greater specificity, writing, "All of them were pigmented; three were identified as stained polypropylene a thermoplastic polymer, while for the other nine it was possible to identify only the pigments, which were all used for man-made coatings, paints, adhesives, plasters, finger paints, polymers and cosmetics and personal care products."</p><p>Understanding how the microplastics found their way in the mothers' placentas is beyond the scope of the research, but there's plenty of evidence that plastics are everywhere, from the products we use to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/climate/airborne-plastic-pollution.html" target="_blank">air we breathe</a>, and so on. One study found that after babies are born, the infusion of microplastics begins right away— <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/19/bottle-fed-babies-swallow-millions-microplastics-day-study" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">millions of particles</a> a day are swallowed by infants drinking form plastic bottles.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk5NTgxNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTMzNzcwMX0.iqK3zk_b6F757ckJ1LFT4eDOTiv48oBPFtNHvP5e2d0/img.jpg?width=980" id="6f6b7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d10819af3722b3233e75cbc68255c452" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1440" data-height="1080" />Credit: Jonathan/Adobe Stock
A critical environment
<p>The placenta plays a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/health/the-push-to-understand-the-placenta.html" target="_blank">critical role</a> in the development of a fetus, delivering nutrition and oxygen, handling waste disposal, and generally doing the job of keeping the fetus alive until its own organs develop enough to take over. The placenta also keeps the infant free of contaminants, or is supposed to, filtering out pathogens. It is also believed to be instrumental in facilitating the myriad chemical process involved in fetal development.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Due to the crucial role of placenta in supporting the foetus's development and in acting as an interface with the external environment, the presence of potentially harmful plastic particles is a matter of great concern. Further studies need to be performed to assess if the presence of microplastics may trigger immune responses or may lead to the release of toxic contaminants, resulting in harm." — Ragusa, et al.</p><p>Study leader Antonio Ragusa, of the San Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli hospital in Rome <a href="https://www.repubblica.it/salute/2020/12/09/news/trovate_per_la_prima_volta_microplastiche_nella_placenta_umana-277658153/" target="_blank">says</a>, "It is like having a cyborg baby: no longer composed only of human cells, but a mixture of biological and inorganic entities." He adds, "The mothers were shocked."</p><p>Chemists Elizabeth Salter Green tells <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/22/microplastics-revealed-in-placentas-unborn-babies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>, "Babies are being born pre-polluted. The study was very small but nevertheless flags a very worrying concern."</p>
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Chemists develop fast-degrading plastic for cleaner oceans
The researchers hope to develop a no-trace plastic to curtail marine pollution and ghost fishing.
24 April, 2020
(Photo: NOAA)
- Cornell University chemists have developed a polymer with the strength of industrial-grade plastics but degrades quickly in sunlight.
- They hope the plastic will one day be used to make fishing nets that leave no environmental trace.
- Their research joins other programs and initiatives aimed at restoring our oceans.
<p>In popular imagination, <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/garbagepatch.html" target="_blank">the Great Pacific Garbage Patch</a> is a concentration of trash adrift lazily on the ocean. It's an entire continent of tightly packed tires, Styrofoam, syringes, water bottles, trash bags, fishing nets, Tupperware, lost toys, missing sandals, and other detritus that looks like <em><a href="https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/earth-was-a-waterworld" target="_self">Waterworld</a></em> as envisioned by <em>Mad Max</em> director George Miller.</p><p>But there's a more insidious reality to the Pacific Garbage Patch. It doesn't concentrate our garbage in a central, easy-to-find location. Rather, the oceanic gyres disperse it across <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/23/world/plastic-great-pacific-garbage-patch-intl/index.html" target="_blank">millions of square kilometers</a>, whirling it wherever the winds and waves take it. </p><p>This reality makes the challenge of cleaning the Pacific Ocean daunting, to say the least. As Dianna Parker, from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, said on the <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/mar18/nop14-ocean-garbage-patches.html" target="_blank">NOAA Ocean Podcast</a>: "We did some quick calculations that if you tried to clean up less than one percent of the North Pacific Ocean it would take 67 ships one year to clean up that portion."</p><p>One major source of this pollution is lost or abandoned fishing gear. Because these nets, traps, and trawls are made of industrial-grade plastics, they will take hundreds of years to degrade. During the interim, they will continue to scour the oceans in large tangled masses, chocking the waters and killing marine life as they go.</p><p>To reduce this source of marine pollution, Cornell University chemists have gone in a counter-intuitive direction: They've created a new plastic. </p>
A lot of hard work for (hopefully) nothing
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzE2MjMyNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDIxOTI2N30.sNuhGWLlXUayYhfuw8yb8lllGjOmPkXEedeCvzOSwTw/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C96%2C0%2C96&height=700" id="dbd14" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="33853c60e6f3be3fecdb198dd5351282" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1245" data-height="700" />Commercial fishing nets are made of polymers that are strong but take hundreds of years to degrade.
<p>The polymer is called isotactic polypropylene oxide, or <em>i</em>PPO for short. It was originally discovered in 1949, but for the past fifteen years, Bryce Lipinski, professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, and his team have been iterating on the plastic and discovered a new polymer chain with some unique properties.</p><p>Their <em>i</em>PPO has a comparable ultimate tensile strength to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nylon_66" target="_blank">nylon-6,6</a>, a sturdy and strong polymer that can maintain stability under adverse conditions. For this reason, nylon-6,6 is used in zip ties, engine parts, industrial applications, and, yes, fishing nets and ropes. </p><p>Unlike nylon-6,6 and other industrial-strength polymers, however, <em>i</em>PPO can readily degrade under the right conditions—those conditions being any wit sunlight.</p><p>"We have created a new plastic that has the mechanical properties required by commercial fishing gear. If it eventually gets lost in the aquatic environment, this material can degrade on a realistic time scale," Lipinski said in <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/04/chemists-create-faster-degrading-plastic-marine-uses" target="_blank">a release</a>. "This material could reduce persistent plastic accumulation in the environment."</p><p>To test their hypothesis, the researchers placed a 93 kilodalton (kDa) sample of their iPPO beneath an LED floodlight. The light exposed the sample to a stream of ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 365 nanometers—a wavelength range within the band of <a href="https://www.who.int/uv/uv_and_health/en/" target="_blank">solar ultraviolet light</a> that passes through the atmosphere to reach Earth's surface.</p><p>After 30 days of constant exposure, the sample reduced to 21 kDa, or roughly a quarter of its original size. Control samples not exposed to ultraviolet light remained unchanged. </p><p>The team <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.0c01768" target="_blank">published their findings</a> last month in the <em>Journal of the American Chemical Society</em>.</p>The deadliest catch
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzE2MjMyOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzQ5MzY2MX0.6_DlCIrKzb7CIqE2-ZDPXYYsV7ao2xtko0ME9odJOj4/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C763%2C0%2C763&height=700" id="3fa7d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d49eebe85430d3668ed4483c7ef5ecfb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1245" data-height="700" />A sea turtle caught in ghost gear.
<p>Fishing nets and ropes produced with such a biodegradable polymer could moderate a major hazard of today's marine environments: <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ghostfishing.html" target="_blank">ghost fishing</a>.</p><p>Ghost fishing begins with lost or abandoned fishing gear. No longer under the control of fishermen, this gear, now known as "ghost gear" or "derelict fishing gear," drifts as flotsam or settles on coastal floors where it continues to serve its function of ensnaring fish and other marine animals.</p><p>A <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/faf.12407" target="_blank">meta-analysis published in <em>Fish and Fisheries</em></a> estimates 5.7 percent of all fishing nets, 8.6 percent of all traps, and 29 percent of all lines become ghost gear each year. The Global Ghost Gear Initiative estimates the annual poundage to be <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-50510666" target="_blank">640,000 metric tons</a>.</p><p>While fishing gear is designed to target certain species, without a fisherman to control it, ghost gear captures animals indiscriminately. Non-target species can often be caught, including protected species of turtles, seabirds, and whales. </p><p>Once caught, they often succumb to starvation, predation, or even cannibalism. Their bodies then attract other animals hoping for an easy meal, who in turn become enmeshed, creating a deadly and self-perpetuating cycle so long as the gear remains unrecovered.</p><p>Ghost fishing wrests an economic toll, too. Beyond the costs of replacing lost gear, ghost gear also culls the populations of species fishermen depend on for their livelihood.</p><p>As Lipinski notes in the release, the goal of his research is to develop a polymer that leaves no trace in the environment. Such a breakthrough may not end the dangers of ghost fishing. Nets and traps would still seize animals before they biodegrade into nothing. But such a polymer would drastically lessen the time such gear could hunt on its wayward path. </p><p>If <em>i</em>PPO could one day reach that goal, it could vastly improve environmental conditions in our oceans.</p>Not too late
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzE2MjMyMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTA3MDcxNn0.bzbtBMEFpS7L-2E5g2K4IdLc0qnxgVrJdf1ajZRlWnc/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0&height=700" id="fc176" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fce6646a76e0266715a4bc334e11d44c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1245" data-height="700" />Volunteers collect rubbish from the Aegean sea to protect biodiversity.
<p><em>i</em>PPO may one day improve the situation, but it is hardly a silver bullet. The gyre that creates Great Pacific Garbage Patch also sweeps up vast amounts of tiny microplastics—most too small to be seen with the naked eye yet will still last hundreds of years. These join fishing nets and everyday plastic items that wash out into the sea.</p><p>"[T]he bottom line is that until we prevent debris from entering the ocean at the source, it's just going to keep congregating in these areas. We could go out and clean it all up and then still have the same problem on our hands as long as there's debris entering the ocean," Dianna Parker said.</p><p>Again, the challenge is daunting. Yet many countries, institutions, and individuals are taking it head-on.</p><p>Last year, the <a href="https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/the-ocean-cleanup-successfully-catches-plastic-in-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch/" target="_blank">Ocean Cleanup Project announced</a> that its latest boom design was successfully capturing and collecting plastics from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The system uses the ocean's natural currents to sweep debris into the boom. Once fully operational, the system will be able to return plastics to land for recycling.</p><p>The United Nations has set its <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/oceans/" target="_blank">Sustainable Development Goal #14</a> to target marine conservation. One of its goals is to significantly reduce all marine pollution by 2025, with an emphasis on preventing land-based sources. </p><p>And a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2146-7" target="_blank">recent study in <em>Nature</em></a> found that the situation isn't hopeless. The researchers projected the recovery of damaged marine habitats by looking at past conservation interventions. They found that we could restore our oceans, resurrect dead zones, and reinvigorate marine species within 30 years. It would take a concentrated effort costing billions of dollars, but the potential rewards would be worth 10 times as much.</p><p>"Overfishing and climate change are tightening their grip, but there is hope in the science of restoration," Callum Roberts, study author and marine conservation biologist at the University of York, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/01/oceans-can-be-restored-to-former-glory-within-30-years-say-scientists" target="_blank">told the <em>Guardian</em></a>. "One of the overarching messages of the review is, if you stop killing sea life and protect it, then it does come back. We can turn the oceans around and we know it makes sense economically, for human well being and, of course, for the environment."</p>
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Get your coffee fix while helping the environment
These compostable espresso pods are the eco-friendly way to get your caffeine fix.
03 April, 2020
- The coffee pod revolution saved us time and effort but has been horrible for the environment.
- The single-use plastics used in most pods sit in landfills for years.
- Fortunately, a new wave of eco-friendly compostable pods is coming to the market.
<p>
Between 2005 and 2018, the coffee pod market <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/03/13/heres-why-your-used-k-cups-coffee-pods-arent-usually-recycled/3067283002/" target="_blank">grew</a> from less than 1 percent of Americans to over 41 percent. The trade-off for a quickly brewed and easy-to-clean espresso is the single-use, non-recyclable plastic each serving comes packaged in. While some companies have tried self-monitoring by offering their own recycling programs, most just languish in landfills.
</p><p>
Enter <a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/compostable-espresso-pods-60-capsule-mix?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=compostable-espresso-pods-60-capsule-mix&utm_term=scsf-378198&utm_content=a0x1P000004NNRy&scsonar=1" target="_blank">Woken compostable espresso pods</a>. Coming in three delicious flavors—sweet and spicy Arabica; thick and woody Lungo; and strong, creamy Deciso—the pods completely break down in 90 days after use. Even better, the pods are responsibly sourced and chemical-free, adding an extra layer of guilt-free goodness to your daily java fix.
</p><p>
These pods work with most Nespresso® OriginalLine machines (though they are not affiliated with Nespresso®).
</p><p>
Getting your caffeine fix doesn't have to spell bad news for the environment. Right now you can <a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/compostable-espresso-pods-60-capsule-mix?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=compostable-espresso-pods-60-capsule-mix&utm_term=scsf-378198&utm_content=a0x1P000004NNRy&scsonar=1" rel="noopener" target="_blank">purchase a 60-capsule mix</a> of <strong>Woken compostable pods</strong> for only $29.99, a 25% discount off the manufacturer's price. Your taste buds, and the planet, will thank you.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
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1,000 years from now, lego bricks could be found in the ocean
A new study says that it could be centuries before millions of the classic toys submerged in the Earth's seas disintegrate.
20 March, 2020
Photo by Rick Mason on Unsplash
- A new study by researchers from the University of Plymouth estimates that it could be up to 1,300 years before LEGO pieces lost to the sea disintegrate.
- Researchers collected fifty LEGO pieces washed up on beaches in southwest England and compared them to archived blocks in their original condition.
- The classic children's toy is made of an incredibly durable material called acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a rock-solid polymer.
<p>Shiploads of tiny LEGO blocks are floating about the Earth's seas, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749119364152?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">a new study</a> estimates that it could be up to 1,300 years before the seemingly imperishable plastic toys disintegrate. </p>
Research findings
<p>In a study published in <em>Environmental Pollution</em>, researchers from the University of Plymouth collected fifty LEGO pieces from beaches in southwest England. The chemicals in the weathered samples were then compared to archived LEGO pieces in their original forms. </p><p>"Using measured mass loss of paired (weathered versus unweathered) equivalents and the age of blocks obtained from storage we estimate residence times of between about 100 and 1300 years for this type and thickness of plastic, with variations reflecting differences in precise additive composition and modes of weathering," the authors write.</p>How did so many LEGO’s get in the ocean?
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="13b8b58c6b99ed94749f5993dcddeebe"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RoKYTPcc1ik?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>So, why are there so many LEGOs at sea anyways? Well, kids, being kids, tend to flush them down the toilet. It's estimated that 2 million bits of LEGO have been lost to the sewage system. There was also the unfortunate <a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/59913/18-years-after-spill-ocean-lego-pieces-still-wash-ashore" target="_blank">LEGO-spill incident of 1997</a>, when nearly 5 million pieces of the toy fell overboard on a container ship.</p><p>Organizations in the United Kingdom like Rame Peninsula Beach Care and the LEGO Lost at Sea Project have done their part to save thousands of the tiny plastic toys from beaches. But if you've ever had the experience of stepping on a LEGO brick, you know how sturdy they feel. This new research suggests that their mass and chemical make-up is truly close to indestructible. More likely than not, these blocks will be washing up on shores centuries from now. It's not entirely clear how these recently discovered LEGOs entered the ocean, but they do match up with toys sold in the 1970s and 80s. And although they have spent decades being weathered, weakened, and yellowed by the sea, researchers were shocked to find them still relatively intact. </p><p>"Lego is one of the most popular children's toys in history and part of its appeal has always been its durability," said the study's leader<a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-03-lego-bricks-survive-ocean-years.html" target="_blank"> Andrew Turner</a> from the University of Plymouth who studies the chemical properties of marine litter. </p><p>"It is specifically designed to be played with and handled, so it may not be especially surprising that despite potentially being in the sea for decades it isn't significantly worn down. However, the full extent of its durability was even a surprise to us."</p>The indestructible LEGO material
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjg4NzE3OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDE4MTMyOH0.VOzCulUGLVzMR2_BcvFUozYGD6ad2C-94Ws0lFiOsis/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C315%2C0%2C315&height=700" id="2e204" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e67b45a3da8d60a04f387a7679fb5060" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1245" data-height="700" />Photo by Daniel Cheung on Unsplash
<p>The classic children's toy is made of an incredibly unsustainable material called acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a rock solid polymer. LEGO, which has had to do some <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/09/lego-ends-shell-partnership-following-greenpeace-campaign" target="_blank">greenwashing PR over the years</a>, has pledged to move to more sustainable materials by 2030. But in this case it's far too little and years too late. ABS is a somewhat new plastic material, and so we can't be sure what will really happen to them in the far future. But this recent study, and others like it, gives us an unsettling clue. And it is not awesome for sea ecosystems. </p> <p>"Based on mass difference among paired samples that are about 40 years old we estimate residence times in the marine environment on the order of hundreds of years," the authors <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749119364152?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">write</a>. They also noted that their findings align with the dissolution expectancy of clear plastic bottles, which have <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2018/09/24/plastic-pollution-affects-sea-life-throughout-the-ocean" target="_blank">devastated marine life</a>. </p> <p>"The pieces we tested had smoothed and discolored, with some of the structures having fractured and fragmented, suggesting that as well as pieces remaining intact they might also break down into microplastics," <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-03-lego-bricks-survive-ocean-years.html" target="_blank">said Turner</a>.</p> <p><span>"It once again emphasizes the importance of people disposing of used items properly to ensure they do not pose potential problems for the environment."</span></p>
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Graphene typically costs $200,000 per ton. Now, scientists can make it from trash.
Graphene is insanely useful, but very difficult to produce — until now.
31 January, 2020
Jeff Fitlow
- Graphene is a lattice of carbon atoms arranged in a chicken-wire formation, a structure that makes it very useful for a wide range of applications.
- However, it's been very difficult and expensive to make.
- This new technique cuts down on the cost and difficulty by flash heating any carbon-based material, such as used coffee grounds or plastic waste.
<p><br></p></div>
<p>Recent technology developed at Rice University is taking the idea that one man's trash is another man's treasure to its extreme. Banana peels, coffee grounds, single-use plastic containers, coal — all of these and more are being turned into one of the most valuable materials around: graphene. Chemist James Tour and his team have developed a rapid process that can transform bulk-quantities of junk into flakes of graphene.</p><p>"This is a big deal," said Tour in a Rice University <a href="http://news.rice.edu/2020/01/27/rice-lab-turns-trash-into-valuable-graphene-in-a-flash-2/" target="_blank">press release</a>. "The world throws out 30 percent to 40 percent of all food, because it goes bad, and plastic waste is of worldwide concern. We've already proven that any solid carbon-based matter, including mixed plastic waste and rubber tires, can be turned into graphene."</p>
What is graphene?
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU3NjI2OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MzI0MjE3Nn0.RSyt5IKeTRUpaVKGRPzbeUPnDZZEkO6tIGEy1hKulrw/img.jpg?width=980" id="41118" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="50c393511cc3e408c5ffdcf1959142d4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="960" data-height="597" />A rendering of graphene.
<p>Graphene's value is mainly due to its incredible strength and the wide variety of industrial applications it possesses. This material consists of a single layer of carbon atoms connected to one another by six chemical bonds, creating a lattice that resembles chicken wire. </p><p>Not only is graphene extremely useful in scientific experiments due to its high reactivity and strength, it can also be added to all sorts of other materials to improve their strength or to make them more lightweight, such as concrete or metals. It is the most conductive material, making it invaluable for use as a heat sink in, for instance, LEDs or smartphones. It could also be used in battery technology, in paints, in sensors, and many more — there are quite literally too many applications for this material to cover in this article alone.</p>What is 'flash graphene'?
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1bdd2f2519b4534119724f0b210531d3"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hzm5AMPFMqs?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Despite its high utility, graphene isn't a part of our everyday lives yet. Part of the reason why is because of its prohibitive cost. Graphene is difficult to produce in bulk, with "the present commercial price of graphene being $67,000 to $200,000 per ton," said Tour. Common techniques include exfoliation, in which sheets of graphene are stripped away from graphite, or chemical vapor deposition, in which methane (CH4) is vaporized in the presence of a copper substrate that grabs the methane's carbon atoms, arranging them as graphene.</p><p>The new technique, called <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-1938-0" target="_blank">flash Joule heating</a>, is far simpler, cheaper, and doesn't rely on any hazardous solvents or chemical additives. Simply put, a carbon-based material is exposed to a 2,760°C (5,000°F) heat for just 10 milliseconds. This breaks every chemical bond in the input material. All atoms aside from carbon turn into gas, which escape in this proof-of-concept device but could be captured in industrial applications. The carbon, however, reassembles itself as flakes of graphene.</p><p>What's more, this technique produces so-called turbostatic graphene. Other processes produce what's known as A-B stacked graphene, in which half of the atoms in one sheet of graphene lie over the atoms of another sheet of graphene. This results in a tighter bond between the two sheets, making them harder to separate. Turbostatic graphene has no such order between sheets, so they're easier to remove from one another.</p><p>The most obvious use case for what the researchers have termed "flash graphene" is to use these graphene flakes as a component in concrete. "By strengthening concrete with graphene," said Tour, "we could use less concrete for building, and it would cost less to manufacture and less to transport. Essentially, we're trapping greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane that waste food would have emitted in landfills. We are converting those carbons into graphene and adding that graphene to concrete, thereby lowering the amount of carbon dioxide generated in concrete manufacture. It's a win-win environmental scenario using graphene."</p><p>Concrete is a major application for this material, one that would both be economically and environmentally sound, but many others exist too. As this method and others for producing graphene in bulk mature, we can hope to see a future with increasingly stronger, more lightweight, more advanced, and less environmentally destructive materials and technologies.</p>
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