SIGNATURE WORK
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2022

Plastic products are ubiquitous, and they are posing great threats to the environment and human health. The first part of the project aims to quantify plastic pollution by controlling the production of feedstocks and primary plastics, and the focus is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in China. By collecting data from different sources and applying the material flow model, it is estimated that the mass-to-mass conversion rate of HCFC-22, the major feedstock of PTFE to products is around 46% in 2019. In addition, since the organofluorine industry in China is developing at a fast pace, the conversion rate is expected to grow in the future. The second part of the project utilizes the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and

Ultraviolet-visible(UV-Vis) spectroscopy to test if there are additives remained in the cap gaskets of glass-bottled beverages. Several easily accessible beverages are sampled, and the results show that phthalates are likely to be present in polyvinyl chloride gaskets and various additives are likely to exist in other plastic gaskets.