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We’re all aware of the detrimental plastic waste situation and its negative impact on the state of the world. But what is often left undiscussed are solutions to help combat this issue.
If the plastic pollution problem is left unchanged, we could see an insurmountable 99 million tons of uncontrolled plastic in the environment by 2030. It’s a daunting number to conceive and would lead to irreparable damage to the planet. But the reality is – it already has. So how can we decelerate the pollution crisis?
Enter Denovia, a plastic remanufacturing project with a trajectory to change the world. The innovative research company is helping to create big shifts for plastic waste with sustainable methods. Based out of London, Ontario, Denovia and the local 0% food waste, ethical, and sustainable meal delivery company ethey, Canada’s #1 meal delivery service, are working in tandem to change the future of recycled plastics for the better.
Denovia Labs, by Nick Spina and Istok Nahtigal – a physical organic chemist and researcher with the Fanshawe Centre for Research and Innovation, is revolutionizing the world of plastics. The company not only provides a solution to plastic waste but does so with sustainable methods.
After Nahtigal noticed the need for a solution for plastics that don’t classify as biodegradable – the PET class of plastics – Nahtigal took on the challenge to create one with the support from Spina.
“We looked at what we could do with it and we came up with a process where we could essentially break that plastic down back into the original components that were used to make the plastic, which are called monomers,” Nahtigal explains. The best part: they figured out how to do it both economically and sustainably.
Getting the monomers out in an economic way is “the biggest stumbling block for pretty much all recycling and reuse cases,” he continues, and “we figured out how to do it… We’re getting these monomers out which are drop-in replacements to what petroleum companies produce to make the plastics.” In short, the process allows these companies that make plastics to buy the raw material from Denovia without changing their own process.
You may be wondering, is the process then limited to PET? Denovia is three steps ahead. Today, the innovative Plastic Waste Management company can handle various chemical and physical forms of plastic including polyesters, textiles, and more. And the output? Quality plastic, or “up-cycled” for more advanced use in as quick as five minutes – the fastest chemical processing time in the world.
“It’s remarkable,” ethey founder and CEO Spina shares. “There’s nothing quite like seeing plastic dissolve in front of your eyes.”
(Top) The reactant solvent used in the depolymerization process. (Bottom) Monomers depolymerized from PET. Photo courtesy of Denovia Labs
Partnered with North America’s largest second-hand seller of textiles, Goodwill, Denovia is on track to completely alter plastic waste. “We’ve partnered with Goodwill to up-cycle all of their polyester clothing that is currently being shipped overseas and we’re able to actually up-cycle that here on site,” he discusses. As the name Denovia stands for and defines (de novo meaning starting something new in Latin), their innovative methods are immensely contributing to the plastic waste movement.
With a team of leading applied scientists and engineers, their cutting-edge and economically pragmatic solution is bridging the gap between plastic and sustainability.
Denovia is catalyzing the next evolution in plastic waste through valorization and using a system that is incredibly more versatile than other existing processes. Its system delivers a holistic and realistic offering with its feedstock inputs, its outputs to various partners, and its economic viability.
The material up-cycling process is one of a kind which allows the re-use of the same materials in a continuous cycle. In just three steps, the process recombines plastic into virgin quality plastic or “up-cycled”:
1. Retroconversion
In layman’s terms, the process targets and breaks down (depolymerizes) waste plastics into smaller molecules.
2. Purification
The now small molecules, known as monomers, are separated and refined into chemically equivalent “fossil” derived versions.
3. Utilization
Because the refined monomers are chemically equivalent, it allows for “drop-in” ready solutions into existing plastic production infrastructure.
“The current recycling process is melting plastic down. And, after you do that five times, the plastic comes very brittle and weak. After that fifth time, give or take, you can’t recycle it anymore. And that’s where our process – at any recycling stage in the plastic process – is very helpful because we can continue to rebirth it back into its virgin state of new plastic again.” Spina says.
With innovations revolutionizing the Plastic Waste Management industry, there’s no ceiling for the benefits Denovia is providing. And the future of recycled plastics is forever altered with economical, ecological, and environmental aid; a competitive offering, reduction of plastic in the world’s ecosystem, and lowering of fossil fuel impact from plastics manufacturing.
With a mission to reduce plastic waste, Spina and Nahtigal are benefitting the planet one virgin-polyester monomer at a time.
Plastic waste is unavoidable, but there are ways to manage it. And that’s exactly what Denovia is achieving.
To learn more about Nick Spina and Istok Nahtigal’s Plastics project Denovia Labs, visit their website today. It’s never too late to alter your impact on the world and reduce your carbon and waste footprint. So why not start today?
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This content is brought to you by Andrea Mario
Photos provided by Colton Barter.