- Climate, Environment & Health
UV light makes it possible: faster recycling of superabsorbents
Worldwide consumption of disposable diapers is over 167 billion units per year. The extensive use of disposable diapers results in almost 40 million tons of waste every year. The majority of this diaper waste is neither separated nor recycled - every minute more than 300,000 diapers are incinerated or disposed of in landfills. In Europe alone, including Germany, over 8.5 million tons of disposable diapers are thrown away every year - an enormous amount of waste that was previously difficult to recycle and therefore represents a massive waste of valuable raw materials. The superabsorbent polymers contained in the diapers, which are also used in numerous other hygiene and medical products, are particularly problematic. These polymers have so far been difficult to recycle. A new process developed by Prof. Pavel Levkin's group at KIT is revolutionizing the recycling of these polymers. By using UV radiation, the chemical chains of the polymers can now be broken down up to 200 times faster at room temperature and without the use of chemicals. Until now, recycling these polymers was complex and expensive, as strong acids were needed to break down the chemical chains at 80 degrees Celsius within around 16 hours. The new process, on the other hand, dissolves the polymers in just five minutes by moistening them with water and exposing them to UV light. The recycled polymers are versatile and can be further processed into new products. This represents a significant improvement in terms of time, costs and resource conservation.
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