Scientists recycle used facemasks into Ethernet cables

Green chemistry has empowered researchers to turn used facemasks into Ethernet cables. 

In a study published in Carbon Letters, the Swansea University team outlined the chemical process that allowed them to upcycle materials which would otherwise be thrown away, transforming them into high-quality, single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT). 

These CNTs can then be utilised for a wide variety of purposes, including the production of Ethernet cables with broadband quality, as well as lightweight batteries used in electric cars and drones.

“Single-use facemasks are a real travesty for the recycling system as they create vast amounts of plastic waste - much of it ending up in our oceans," said Professor Alvin Orbaek White, one of the authors of the study, from Swansea University’s Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI).  

"During the study, we established that the carbon inside the facemask can be used as a pretty good feedstock to make high-quality materials...