Saving Earth from plastic waste

By Lee Eun-jae

The oceans are in a state of death. Like the Amazon Rainforest, which have played the role of lungs regulating the climate of the entire planet, the oceans are dying, covered with vast amounts of plastic waste. In the case of the Pacific Ocean, the plastic garbage zone extends for hundreds of square kilometers between Hawaii and the North American continent. The same is true of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. It is so massive that it can be seen from space.

But the laments of environmental activists from the United Nations and other countries ring hollow. It is impossible for any environmental activist to give up their daily routine ― the clothes they wear, the shoes they wear, the bag they carry on their back ― and live a “plastic-free” life. Today, Earth itself is rapidly turning into a “plastic planet.”

Accelerating the golden hour of the climate crisis much faster than scientists predicted, the mountains of plastic debris that are covering the oceans are causing a rapid loss of climate-regulating ocean currents and functions. As a result, global carbon-neutral greenhouse gas mitigation efforts are of little consequence. Not only that, but the fact that marine microplastics, which are breaking up and dispersing from an average size of 5 mm down to the nanometer level, act as “magnets” that attract toxic organic matter and increase its toxicity.

The real nature of the toxicity is the rupture phenomenon that occurs when the surface of the microplastics cracks, which means that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the water get adsorbed in the gaps between the microplastics, increasing the concentration of POPs in the water by thousands to tens of thousands of times. As a result, they act as toxins to all marine life, from whales and turtles to algae and shellfish, causing them to suffer and die.

So, with the current state of science and technology, where is the search for a solution to marine plastic waste disposal? It is not an exaggeration to say that there is none. No country has come up with a solution other than emphasizing systematic and sustainable management of marine debris. There is no fundamental solution to simply intercepting, collecting and disposing of marine debris.

But as the author presented in the previous column on the

use of a space energy system as a solution to the climate crisis

, a space energy system can also be applied to the disposal of plastic waste. This is because the method of applying space energy enables a new “search for solutions” by penetrating the very essence of plastics as “the product of an artificial synthetic process.” The method of synthesizing plastic, which is the mainstay of modern science, technology and industry, is not only completely different from the natural method of synthesizing the universe and natural life, but also the opposite. The method of space energy application can go beyond this and provide a solution that restores the distorted form that is the result of space energy application to its original state.

Plastics are manmade syntheses, unlike the natural polymer compounds that make up human life and natural life forms. Nature created natural macromolecular compounds like DNA and starch, but plastics, which are manmade, do not follow nature's laws, but the opposite. Natural polymer compounds perform an inherent function that is called molecular recognition. Molecular recognition means that any substrate is recognized by molecular space. In this case, the molecular space serves as a pathway to provide energy for the biochemical reactions required by the molecule.

In other words, natural macromolecules in their natural state recognize and regulate the interactions between molecules and the unique properties of life and nature through the molecular space. In contrast, artificial macromolecular compounds, such as plastics, do not function in the normal molecular recognition functions of natural cycles and communication. This is because there is an iterative combination of reduction and elimination of the space between each molecule in the polymerization reaction process to form monomers into polymers (macromolecules). As a result, the molecular structure of the plastic takes on the form of a rigid solid, like a cancer cell, with persistent degradation properties.

The space energy application system, by restoring quantum coupling phenomena, is already enabling the realization of innovative refining, such as improved energy efficiency and zero pollution, which have yet to be perfected in existing oil development and manufacturing processes. If this method is applied, it will be possible to fundamentally solve the problem of persistent degradation characteristic of plastics by recovering waste plastics from oceans and coasts and converting them into pyrolysis oil. If marine microplastics are recovered from ships and used as fuel in the pyrolysis process, the fuel consumed during ship operations can be replenished.

In addition, the space energy application system will be a major innovation in the process of seawater desalination by installing facilities along the coastline where the sea meets the land to bring in large volumes of massive ocean seawater. The conventional seawater desalination process requires the use of electricity, but the space energy system does not require the use of electricity, thus reducing the cost. In addition, the conventional seawater purification process uses countless purification filters and generates waste.

The space energy system eliminates the need for another filter because it achieves the ability to break down the entangled molecular structure of seawater into its optimal structure at a very fast rate. Ultimately, the space energy system will save a great deal of money on seawater desalination costs, while providing a fundamental solution to the marine plastic problem in a versatile way by combining the capture and adsorption of suspended microplastics in seawater with pyrolysis process technology. This is truly a new technological revolution. It can provide a fundamental solution to the problem of marine pollution.

Lee Eun-jae is the representative of the 21st Century Space Energy Forum, an organization dedicated to promoting the research and development of space energy technology.