Recyclable plastic containers with the No. 2 designation could become even more popular for manufacturers as plastic milk jugs, dish soap containers and shampoo bottles may soon get an environmental makeover.
Cornell chemists can demonstrate how to make high-density polyethylene with better control over polymer chain lengths, which allows for improvement over physical properties such as processability and strength, according to research published Dec. 27, 2019, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
“The grand challenge has been to minimize the energy cost of plastic production and to create new ways to precisely tune the properties of consumer plastics,” said Renee Sifri, doctoral candidate in chemistry in the laboratory of Brett Fors, associate professor of chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences.
To strengthen plastic products, manufacturers might add extra material in the production and recycling process, which requires energy to melt and mold the plastic into its final form, Sifri said.
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Image: Omar Padilla-Vélez, left, and Renee Sifri examine the tensile strength of a high-density polyethylene “dog bone.” (Credit: Lindsay France/Cornell University)