Turning one of the world’s most difficult plastics into premium lubricant

Virginia Tech chemist and chemical engineer Guoliang “Greg” Liu and his lab have developed a process that converts the plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into polyalphaolefin, a key component in lubricants such as engine oil. Published Aug. 5 in the journal Nature, the research could help address two environmental challenges: recycling one of the world’s most difficult plastics and producing a valuable industrial material.