Abdoulaye Richard, a researcher in chemical and biochemical engineering at the University of Oxford for over 20 years, told Tech Insider that the process they’re seeing in the labs is the same one used in factories producing plastic products, in which a combination of acids and phosphates (pH 5 to 7) break down a polymer to get its components.
As I covered yesterday in a Forbes article on the “recovery” of plastics, manufacturing companies have been using low-viscosity, or “silicone,” formulations of plastics for decades to keep them flexible for manufacturing purposes even with a thick or heavy coating that resists deformation under the harsh chemicals that are used in polymers now.
But the plastics that are used in the final products have all changed in the last decade in a way that makes the silicone systems a little less rigid, and thus a little less bendy, as the result of the more acidic materials used on them.
A good example is polymeric poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). PEG is a great plastic that is used in all sorts of consumer products, but it is also incredibly flexible, being able to take on a variety of shapes that would just not work with other rubber compounds.
To make the product, the manufacturer would add a synthetic version of PEG molecules to a solution of ethanol (another acid) and formaldehyde. The resulting mixture is then exposed to high heat — the alcohol and formaldehyde break down the PEG molecules into the molecules that are still water and fatty acids.
The water is kept in suspension in a bath of water and alcohol until the alcohol starts to evaporate as soon as temperatures begin to rise slightly (about 95°F or 30°C). The remaining water is then exposed to heat in the presence of acids for about two minutes every few hours.
While this process isn’t a cure for brittle brittle plastics, it does provide a safe, simple and low-cost alternative to polyurethanes for those who have to replace flexible plastic products that break after repeated use.
And so much for that “slim” iPhone screen problem that a growing number of Apple consumers have experienced. There is a more complicated process that makes the flexible screen thinner and lighter, and it involves even less chemical damage.
Related: The secret to thin, flexible, flexible phones is simple