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Waste plastic can be recycled into hydrogen fuel and graphene

Using waste plastic to produce a combination of hydrogen and graphene could make it profitable and greener to generate hydrogen as a fuel

By Alex Wilkins

29 September 2023

Plastic scrap in landfill

Polyethylene, used in plastic bags, can be converted into hydrogen and graphene

Jenya Smyk/Shutterstock

A new way to make hydrogen from waste plastic also produces graphene as a byproduct. If the graphene is sold at its current market price, it could actually become profitable to generate hydrogen as a clean fuel.

The most common way to produce hydrogen involves reacting steam with methane sourced from natural gas. However, this process releases large quantities of carbon dioxide. There are carbon-free ways to make hydrogen, but they require large amounts of electricity and can be expensive in countries with high energy costs.…

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