Emerging Technology

Description of the Assignment:

For this assignment, I chose recycling of plastics. Because different types of plastics are made of different colors, compositions, and additives. This makes it difficult to recycle plastics. The recycling process can also involve toxic solvents and be polluting. The emerging technology that I chose was based on a process developed by Northwestern that exposes Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) to a molybdenum catalyst and small quantities of water. This treatment breaks the plastic back to its original starting materials. This is a big advantage to the typical recycling "downcycling". 

What I Learned:

This is an assignment that taught me quite a bit. I also got a chance to practice some of the things I have done before and was pleased to find that I can do them more quickly. I know speed is not the main consideration, but I do know that feeling familiar with a process helps things to come more easily. One of the reasons that I wanted to take this course is to get enough practice so that the actions would feel more natural. If you take a one-day professional development, there isn't enough time to practice the skill, so by the time you need the skill, it seems you have forgotten all about it.