Singapore company BlueRen has developed an environmentally friendly way of converting plastic waste into carbon nanotubes – tiny cylinders of carbon atoms . Carbon atoms have many advantages as they are light , strong and can conduct electricity . Co-founder Wong Chui Ling, 34, a research scientist at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) said: "There have been studies on the conversion of plastic waste into carbon nanotubes, but a lot of the processes are not scaleable and do not focus on product yield. They are 10,000 times thinner than human hair , but can be 100 times stronger than steel . They are widely used in batteries and electronics and can also be used as additives to enhance the strength of concrete . Up until now , most processes of recycling plastic into nanotubes have been costly and have produced toxic gasses . BlueRen 's method gives a 10 per cent efficiency - every 10,000 tonnes of plastic waste can be converted to 1,000 tonnes of carbon nanotubes . The patent for the technology is currently pending .
Singapore company BlueRen has developed an environmentally friendly way of converting plastic waste into carbon nanotubes – tiny cylinders of carbon atoms . Carbon atoms have many advantages as they are light , strong and can conduct electricity . They are 10,000 times thinner than human hair , but can be 100 times stronger than steel . They are widely used in batteries and electronics and can also be used as additives to enhance the strength of concrete . Up until now , most processes of recycling plastic into nanotubes have been costly and have produced toxic gasses . BlueRen 's method gives a 10 per cent efficiency - every 10,000 tonnes of plastic waste can be converted to 1,000 tonnes of carbon nanotubes . The patent for the technology is currently pending .