A new efficient method for the processing of post-consumer polypropylene and other polyolefin wastes into polar waxes

Marek, A.; Zawadiak, Jan; Piotrowski, Tomasz; Hefczyc, Barbara

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2015.08.042

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…This “waste” could be a valuable resource for production of new materials and it is also important to recover and recycle it due to the persistence of traditional plastics in natural environments . Today conventional plastics like polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) are often placed in landfills or, as a better alternative, energy recycled or mechanically recycled into low-value products. , However, ideally, these waste products are an important resource for production of new materials. , New efficient upcycling methods would have a high economic and environmental value and be in-line with the principals of a sustainable closed-loop society. , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trash to Treasure: Microwave-Assisted Conversion of Polyethylene to Functional Chemicals

Bäckström

Odelius

Hakkarainen

2017

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

129

106

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An effective microwave-assisted process for recycling low-density polyethylene (LDPE) waste into value-added chemicals was developed. To achieve fast and effective oxidative degradation aimed at production of dicarboxylic acids, nitric acid was utilized as an oxidizing agent. Different conditions were evaluated, where recycling time and concentration of oxidizing agent were varied and the end products were characterized by FTIR, NMR, and HPLC. After just 1 h of microwave irradiation at 180 °C in relatively dilute nitric acid solution (0.1 g/mL), LDPE powder was totally degraded. This transformation led to few well-defined water-soluble products, mainly succinic, glutaric, and adipic acids, as well as smaller amounts of longer dicarboxylic acids, acetic acid, and propionic acid. The length of the obtained dicarboxylic acids could to some extent be tuned by adjusting the reaction time, temperature, and amount of oxidizing agent. Finally, the developed process was verified by recycling LDPE freezer bags as model LDPE waste. The freezer bags were converted mainly into dicarboxylic acids with a yield of 71%, and the carbon efficiency of the process was 37%. The developed method can, thus, contribute to a circular economy and offers new possibilities to increase the value of plastic waste.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trash to Treasure: Microwave-Assisted Conversion of Polyethylene to Functional Chemicals

Bäckström

Odelius

Hakkarainen

2017

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

129

106

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“…However, some attempts in depolymerising polyolefins have been undertaken, giving different kind of products, from a mixture of light alkanes, to novel materials, and among them, organocatalysts have been an even more rare methodology. [62][63][64][65][66] Firstly, polyisoprene-based materials, which are more accessible owing to the reactivity of the CvC double bond that remains in the polymer structure, have been depolymerised with m-chlorobenzoic acid, 67 phenylhrazine, 68 or potassium persulfate. 69 In all cases, the molecular weight of the polymer decreased drastically, producing telechelic oligomers as degradation products.…”

Section: Polyurethanesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organocatalysis for depolymerisation

et al. 2019

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“…These composite plastics have to be landfilled because they are difficult to separate by conventional mechanical and/or chemical recovery processes (Al-Salem et al, 2009 ; Astrup et al, 2009 ; Singh et al, 2017 ). Recent approaches for valorizing mixed PWs include mixing them with materials such as wood, cement, and ash to turn them into construction materials (Sardot et al, 2012 ; Sofi et al, 2019 ), printable paper-like composites (Fan et al, 2020 ), fiber composites (Keskisaari and Kärki, 2017 ), new polymers (Rahimi and Garciá, 2017 ), and polar waxes (Marek et al, 2015 ). Nanomaterials have also been prepared from single-polymer PW.…”

Section: Waste As Starting Materials For the Production Of Nanoparticmentioning

confidence: 99%

Waste-Derived Nanoparticles: Synthesis Approaches, Environmental Applications, and Sustainability Considerations

et al. 2020

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For the past few decades, a plethora of nanoparticles have been produced through various methods and utilized to advance technologies for environmental applications, including water treatment, detection of persistent pollutants, and soil/water remediation, amongst many others. The field of materials science and engineering is increasingly interested in increasing the sustainability of the processes involved in the production of nanoparticles, which motivates the exploration of alternative inputs for nanoparticle production as well as the implementation of green synthesis techniques. Herein, we start by overviewing the general aspects of nanoparticle synthesis from industrial, electric/electronic, and plastic waste. We expand on critical aspects of waste identification as a viable input for the treatment and recovery of metal-and carbon-based nanoparticles. We follow-up by discussing different governing mechanisms involved in the production of nanoparticles, and point to potential inferences throughout the synthesis processes. Next, we provide some examples of waste-derived nanoparticles utilized in a proof-of-concept demonstration of technologies for applications in water quality and safety. We conclude by discussing current challenges from the toxicological and life-cycle perspectives that must be taken into consideration before scale-up manufacturing and implementation of waste-derived nanoparticles.

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A new efficient method for the processing of post-consumer polypropylene and other polyolefin wastes into polar waxes

Cited by 10 publications

References 30 publications

Trash to Treasure: Microwave-Assisted Conversion of Polyethylene to Functional Chemicals

Trash to Treasure: Microwave-Assisted Conversion of Polyethylene to Functional Chemicals

Organocatalysis for depolymerisation

Waste-Derived Nanoparticles: Synthesis Approaches, Environmental Applications, and Sustainability Considerations

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