University of Copenhagen researchers convert plastic waste into new form of CO2 sorbent

In Denmark, chemists at the University of Copenhagen have developed a method to convert plastic waste into a climate solution for efficient and sustainable CO2 capture. This is killing two birds with one stone as they address two of the world’s biggest challenges: plastic pollution and the climate crisis.

With the new chemical technology, researchers can transform PET plastic waste that is overlooked by recyclers into a primary resource in a new form of CO2 sorbent they have developed. The process ‘upcycles’ it to a new material the researchers have named BAETA, which can absorb CO2 out of the atmosphere so efficiently that it easily compares with existing carbon capture technologies.