Researchers at Virginia Tech have found a way to upcycle plastic into soap. Around 120 grams to 130 grams of plastic can make 100 grams of soap.

    • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I find it hard to believe there are zero plastics left after the process. I’d like to see the paper on the process. Always appreciate condescending comments though. So, thanks for that.

      • JokklMaster@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Well they literally say there’s none left. Their comment wasn’t condescending. You kind of just asked a dumb question.

        • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Not a dumb question at all. It’s completely reasonable to want to know if there will be microplastics left over in the process.

      • Birds Books and Bullshit@zirk.us
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        1 year ago

        @NocturnalMorning I mean, a lot of people have genuinely no idea what a plastic or a soap is, but they’re both hard to define and explain in 500 characters, so I’m forced into “they’re different and chemistry fundamentally changes things.”

        Given the general soap vs plastic chemical property list, it should be fairly easy to do a clean-up once you’ve got your polar component onto your soap. Some kind of oil-water extraction should work great. It all depends heavily on specifics, of course.