BLACKSBURG, Va., Aug. 5 -- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University issued the following news release:
Virginia Tech chemist and chemical engineer Guoliang "Greg" Liu and his lab have developed a process that converts the plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into polyalphaolefin, a key component in lubricants such as engine oil.
Published Aug. 5 in the journal Nature,the research could help address two environmental challenges: recycling one of the world's most difficult plastics and producing a valuable industrial material.
Because of its chlorine content and the variety of additives used by different manufacturers, PVC is among the hardest plastics to recycle. As a result, much of it ends up in landfills.
At the same time, lubr...