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Letter: Plastics came from oil, they may go back to oil

Published 2 October 2024

From Christopher Jessop, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, UK

Considering what a hotchpotch of substances are released from crude oil when it is “cooked” in a refinery, would it not be possible to use the vaporised plastic bottles and bags you describe as a refinery side-feed? Then, you could repurpose those molecules any way you wanted while using an existing process. Unless, that is, there is some problem with the chemistry of the plastics that would preclude this approach (7 September, p 17).

Issue no. 3511 published 5 October 2024

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