Overview
- University of Cambridge researchers reported a solar-powered “acid photoreforming” method that uses spent car battery acid to break down hard-to-recycle plastics into hydrogen fuel and acetic acid, with results published in Joule.
- The team built an acid-tolerant photocatalyst that resists corrosion and, after the acid depolymerizes plastics into molecules like ethylene glycol, uses sunlight to turn those fragments into the two products.
- In laboratory runs, the reactor delivered high hydrogen output, showed strong selectivity for acetic acid, and operated for more than 260 hours without performance loss across plastics including nylon and polyurethane.
- Using recovered battery acid, which typically makes up 20–40% of a lead‑acid battery by volume and is usually neutralized as waste, the researchers say the process could cut costs by about tenfold versus earlier photoreforming.
- The group plans to move toward commercialization with Cambridge Enterprise and UKRI support, though building continuous reactors that withstand corrosive conditions and ensuring safe acid collection remain key challenges.