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Waste PET-MOF-Cleanwater
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Researchers developed a process to synthesise metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) from waste PET plastic as a cost-effective feedstock for MOF-based water treatment materials, aiming to address both the low recycling rate of waste PET in countries like South Africa and the high production costs that limit MOF implementation.
In countries like South Africa, firstly, the waste PET stream has posed a serious problem to the environment, and the current recycling of waste PET remains as low as 30%. The waste PET recycling industries such as PETCO & Extrupet (South Africa) are struggling to implement innovative processes to make cooperate more profitable. Secondly, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as a new class of porous materials, the MOFs-based water treatment holds the promises to provide cost-effective solutions dealing with the polluted water. However, the high costs of MOFs production have raised a challenge for its effective implementations. Given that, cross-cutting advances in materials and engineering will help to solve those societal challenges. To maintain the world-class research and development associated with human capacity in South Africa, this multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary work has been strengthened along with the basic-applied research continuum under the frame of South Africa (NRF)/Poland (NCBR) Joint Science and Technology Research Collaboration.
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Metal-organic frameworks and plastic: an emerging synergic partnership
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This review examines how metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a class of crystalline nanoporous materials, can be used to address plastic pollution in water. Researchers found that MOFs show promise as adsorbents for removing micro- and nanoplastic particles, especially when integrated into composite materials or membranes, achieving high removal efficiency and water flow rates. The study also highlights an emerging trend of producing MOFs from plastic waste like PET as a sustainable source of raw materials.
Depolymerization to Decontamination: Transforming PET Waste into Tailored MOFs for Advanced Pollutant Adsorption
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This review examines how PET plastic waste can be chemically depolymerized into building blocks — terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol — then used to synthesize metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for removing heavy metals, dyes, and emerging contaminants from wastewater, simultaneously addressing plastic pollution and water purification through a circular economy approach.
Conversion of PET Bottle Waste into a Terephthalic Acid-Based Metal-Organic Framework for Removing Plastic Nanoparticles from Water
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Researchers found a way to turn waste PET plastic bottles into a special material (metal-organic framework) that can remove nanoplastic particles from water with up to 97% efficiency. This approach solves two problems at once: it recycles plastic bottle waste and uses the resulting material to clean plastic nanoparticles from contaminated water. The technology offers a promising circular solution for addressing both plastic waste and nanoplastic water pollution.
From pollution to solution: Optimized UiO-66 based metal-organic framework for environmental cleanup
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Researchers converted recycled plastic bottles (PET) into a high-surface-area material called UiO-66, a metal-organic framework, and embedded it in filtration membranes that removed over 100% of microplastic particles from water. This sustainable approach turns plastic waste into a tool for cleaning up plastic pollution.
PET Waste‐Derived Bimetallic MOFs Nanowire Arrays Enable Efficient Overall Water Splitting
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Scientists found a clever way to turn plastic bottle waste (PET) into a material that helps produce clean hydrogen fuel from water using less energy. This matters because it tackles two problems at once—reducing plastic pollution (which can break down into microplastics that contaminate our water and food) while supporting cleaner energy production that doesn't rely on fossil fuels. While this research is still in the lab stage and not yet a consumer product, it points toward future technologies that could make plastic recycling more valuable and help shift us toward sustainable energy sources.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.