Modified nitrile rubber gets new lease of life as carbon capture material

A simple hydrogenation reaction can convert challenging-to-recycle rubber wastes into valuable upcycled products. Working independently, two teams from Denmark and the UK exploited the nitrogen functionality in nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) to modify the chemical-resistant polymer into an absorbent carbon capture material or stretchy polyol chain. Preliminary studies on real post-consumer plastics – including disposable gloves – gave promising yields of the upcycled polymers and both groups are now looking to scale up their processes.