Abstract
Americans hate carpet. Responding to a clarion call from the hardwood-worshiping hosts of home renovation TV shows, people in the US tear up 1.8 million metric tons of carpet every year and throw it away, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Carpet is difficult to recycle because it’s made with multiple types of plastic, so the result of this carnage usually ends up in a landfill—along with the vast majority of the disposable utensils, toothpaste tubes, bandages, sweat-wicking workout clothes, and other plastics used in the US. Ezgi Toraman sees all that trash as a potential resource. A chemical engineer at the Pennsylvania State University, she studies the fundamental chemistry behind technologies that turn materials normally considered waste into fuel, chemicals, and other products. One of her projects aims to improve the pyrolysis of plastics, an emerging recycling technology that heats plastics in an unreactive atmosphere to convert them
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
