Plastic Waste Has Been Turned Directly Into Hydrogen Fuel – No Sorting Required

Researchers developed an alkaline thermal treatment that turns mixed plastic waste into hydrogen fuel without sorting.

The process uses heat and sodium hydroxide to convert PET, polyethylene, and polypropylene into hydrogen at over 90% purity.

It runs at much lower temperatures than many alternatives and keeps most carbon byproducts as solids.

The method could reduce plastic pollution and help produce lower-carbon hydrogen, but it still needs scaling and optimization before commercial use.