Qatar scientists make breakthrough in waste management

Scientists at Qatar University have made headway in plastics recycling, it has been announced.

The research team noted that this progress in the area of waste management is particularly relevant given that the disposal of plastic waste using landfills creates environmental and space issues, and incineration worsens global warming.

Qatar University’s Centre for Advanced Materials (CAM) has made progress in research to produce recycled polymer composites which are cheaper to create than pure synthetic fibre composites, and also have superior properties.

The Gulf Times reported post doctoral researcher Dr Noorunnisa Khanam Patan as saying:  "Date palm wood flour and date palm leaf fibre, abundantly available as agro-waste material in Qatar, were added to produce recycled polymer composites which could be utilised for a wide range of applications in different fields.”

He noted that glass fibre and mica were also used as reinforcements with recycled polymers in the research programme being conducted under the supervision of associate professor and CAM director Dr Mariam al-Ali al-Ma'adeed.

Dr Paten explained:  "The objective is to use recycled polymers as a matrix to reduce environmental pollution, considering that Qatar produces a large quantity of polyethylene plastics and substantial amounts of plastic wastes are available as municipal solid wastes.”

The expert explained that the past few decades have seen easier processing, better productivity and cost reduction have replaced many traditional materials like metals, wood and ceramics in various applications.

Polymer is a macromolecule which is made up of a number of small molecules combining to form a single long or large molecule. The individual small molecules that form a polymer are called monomers, while polymerisation is the process by which they are linked to form a big polymer molecule.

Natural polymers are those isolated from materials such as cotton, wool, leather, silk and cellulose rayon.