To reduce the cost of electric cars, it may be sufficient to change the material from which they are made. A new method, invented by scientists almost two decades ago, reveals that electric cars can be made from plastic.
Can electric cars be made using plastic waste?
According to a new study, scientists have produced parts that can be used in electric cars from the world’s lightest material, graphene. A joint study between Rice University and Ford used plastic waste from an old F-150 model.
Rice University researchers can recycle old car parts thanks to a technique called “Flash Joule Heating.” A car bumper, floor mats, seats, and even the gasket and outer casing can be produced using plastic waste.
4.5 kg of plastic waste removed from the Ford F-150 was first sent to Rice University. The researchers sent the plastic waste back to Ford after polishing it. The auto giant produced foam composites and handed them over to researchers to be turned into graphene.
co-investigator of the study Alper Kızıltaş, Sustainability Specialist at Ford, said:
“When we bought graphene back from Rice, we incorporated it in very small quantities into our foam and we saw a significant improvement. It exceeded our expectations in providing both mechanical and physical properties for our applications.”
This recycling breakthrough between Rice University and Ford could both lower electric car prices and recycle landfill waste from old cars. According to official figures, more than 1.4 billion cars are held as scrap worldwide.
Graphene, which is planned to be used in parts of electric cars, can also replace batteries. Larger studies want to replace lithium-ion batteries, the biggest problem of electric cars, with graphene.
What do you think about electric cars and plastic work? Don’t forget to share your views with us in the comments!
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