Hosted by Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary, this story explores a breakthrough from Northwestern University: a nickel-based catalyst that could transform plastic recycling. Instead of requiring costly sorting or producing low-value waste, this method selectively breaks down polypropylene while leaving polyethylene intact — even turning common contaminants like PVC into a benefit. The result is a scalable approach that could finally make large-scale plastic recycling practical.

Summary

• Plastic is cheap and convenient — but environmentally devastating

• Current recycling methods (mechanical, pyrolysis) are inefficient or polluting

• Breakthrough: nickel-based catalyst for hydrogenolysis

• Selectively targets polypropylene while ignoring polyethylene

• Works even in the presence of PVC, improving outcomes

• Achieved 99.5% polypropylene conversion in 20 minutes

• Industrial promise: chemical sorting replaces costly manual sorting

Show Notes

• Nature Chemistry — No-Sort Plastic Catalyst