Turning plastic into solid carbon is not easy. Heat the polymers to rearrange their carbon atoms, and they decompose into light hydrocarbons and gases. But researchers at the US National Energy ...

The ORNL method can even make graphite with waste from coal processing and old mines, creating value while performing environmental restoration. "We are very excited because we have found a way to ...

Why it matters: Graphite is the largest component in lithium-ion batteries by weight. Accounting for losses during the manufacturing process, it takes over 30 times more graphite than lithium to make ...