Recently, Spanish scientists have developed a method to eliminate the odor of household plastic waste (such as used shampoo bottles) in order to create conditions for subsequent recycling.

Andrea Cavanis Gil and Andres fujana Fonte, experts from Alicante University in Spain, spent a year and a half developing this new method, which has great potential in application.

The two researchers pointed out that the reuse of household plastic waste is limited by the high content of food or cleaning product waste absorbed in its polymer matrix, which is the source of pollution and bad smell.

They stressed that these odorous substances were volatile organic compounds and could not be treated by conventional washing or conventional mechanical recovery.

Therefore, they believe that "it is necessary to recycle these domestic plastic wastes in an effective and environmentally friendly way for future use as raw materials, so as to reduce their presence in landfill sites, reduce production costs and increase the added value of products".

The new system designed by the "waste, energy, environmental measurement and nanotechnology" research group of the two experts eliminates these unpleasant odors by extracting volatile organic compounds with water vapor.

This system includes several stages: first, the separation and adjustment of plastics; The second is crushing; Third, chemical washing with surfactant; Fourth, wash plastic materials; Fifth, mechanical drying; Sixth, carry out plastic deodorization in the distillation tower.

Cavanis Gill said that the more complex the structure of plastics, the more difficult it is to recycle, so there is an urgent need to design plastics with simpler structure.

It is reported that this new method was patented a few months ago, and five companies, including a multinational company, have expressed considerable interest in it.