Bio-based solvents for polyolefin dissolution and membrane fabrication: from plastic waste to value-added materials

Ramírez-Martínez, Malinalli; Aristizábal, Sandra L.; Székely, György; Nunes, Suzana Pereira

doi:10.1039/d2gc03181g

Cited by 19 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Using sustainable materials based membranes can easily reduce the disposal burdens at the life cycle end as well as the expected environmental risks of non-degradable materials [3]. Therefore, there is need of replacing the traditional commercial materials by using sustainable recyclable materials and green solvents for the membrane fabrication [4][5][6]. The recyclability studies of water purification polymeric membranes through mechanical, chemical, or thermal processes have pointed ways to future sustainable environmental materials [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable membrane technology for water purification—Manufacturing, recycling and environmental impacts

Kausar

2024

J. Polym. Sci. Eng.

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Water pollution has become a serious threat to our ecosystem. Water contamination due to human, commercial, and industrial activities has negatively affected the whole world. Owing to the global demanding challenges of water pollution treatments and achieving sustainability, membrane technology has gained increasing research attention. Although numerous membrane materials have focused, the sustainable water purification membranes are most effective for environmental needs. In this regard sustainable, green, and recyclable polymeric and nanocomposite membranes have been developed. Materials fulfilling sustainable environmental demands usually include wide-ranging polyesters, polyamides, polysulfones, and recyclable/biodegradable petroleum polymers plus non-toxic solvents. Consequently, water purification membranes for nanofiltration, microfiltration, reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, and related filtration processes have been designed. Sustainable polymer membranes for water purification have been manufactured using facile techniques. The resulting membranes have been tested for desalination, dye removal, ion separation, and antibacterial processes for wastewater. Environmental sustainability studies have also pointed towards desired life cycle assessment results for these water purification membranes. Recycling of water treatment membranes have been performed by three major processes mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, or thermal recycling. Moreover, use of sustainable membranes has caused positive environmental impacts for safe waste water treatment. Importantly, worth of sustainable water purification membranes has been analyzed for the environmentally friendly water purification applications. There is vast scope of developing and investigating water purification membranes using countless sustainable polymers, materials, and nanomaterials. Hence, value of sustainable membranes has been analyzed to meet the global demands and challenges to attain future clean water and ecosystem.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable membrane technology for water purification—Manufacturing, recycling and environmental impacts

Kausar

2024

J. Polym. Sci. Eng.

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“…Multiple investigations have documented the successful utilization of plastic waste as sorbents and membranes for oil–water separation 40 – 45 . Separators for oil–water emulsions have been fabricated using: PET waste via electrostatic spinning, in-situ deposition and surface modification 46 , Biomimetic fabrication of PET waste via electrospinning with enhanced stability and demulsibility 47 , kelvar fiber waste via combining solvent replacement and freeze-drying route 48 , and PE waste via swelling, solvent extraction and freeze-drying 20 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing super-fast trimodal sponges using recycled polypropylene for organics cleanup

Saleem,

Moghal,

McKay

2023

Sci Rep

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Sorbent pads and films have been commonly used for environmental remediation purposes, but designing their internal structure to optimize access to the entire volume while ensuring cost-effectiveness, ease of fabrication, sufficient strength, and reusability remains challenging. Herein, we report a trimodal sorbent film from recycled polypropylene (PP) with micropores, macro-voids, and sponge-like 3D cavities, developed through selective dissolution, thermally induced phase separation, and annealing. The sorbent has hundreds of cavities per cm2 that are capable of swelling up to twenty-five times its thickness, allowing for super-fast saturation kinetics (within 30 s) and maximum oil sorption (97 g/g). The sorption mechanism follows a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Moreover, the sorbent is easily compressible, and its structure is retained during oil sorption, desorption, and resorption, resulting in 96.5% reuse efficiency. The oil recovery process involves manually squeezing the film, making the cleanup process efficient with no chemical treatment required. The sorbent film possesses high porosity for effective sorption with sufficient tensile strength for practical applications. Our integrated technique results in a strengthened porous polymeric structure that can be tailored according to end-use applications. This study provides a sustainable solution for waste management that offers versatility in its functionality.

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“…There have been efforts to repurpose plastics, particularly LDPE waste, for oil–water separation and oil sorption applications. Superhydrophobic membranes from PP and LDPE wastes were fabricated using a two-step technique that utilizes bio-based solvents for dissolution and thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) for effective oil–water separation [ 39 ]. Microfiltration membrane was fabricated from acrylic fiber (AF) and LDPE shrink film wastes using an electrospinning technique [ 40 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

3D Oleophilic Sorbent Films Based on Recycled Low-Density Polyethylene

Saleem,

Moghal,

McKay

2023

Polymers

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Recycling low-end, one-time-use plastics—such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE)—is of paramount importance to combat plastic pollution and promote sustainability in the modern green economy. This study valorizes LDPE waste by transforming it into 3D oleophilic swellable thin films through a process involving dissolution, phase separation, and extraction. These films are subsequently layered using a customized polypropylene (PP) based nonwoven fabric separator and securely sealed in a zigzag pattern. The zigzag-shaped seal enhances the adhesion of pollutants to the sorbent by providing wire curvatures that increase retention time and uptake capacity. As a result, the sorbent exhibits impressive oil uptake capacities, with immediate and equilibrium values of 120 g/g and 85 g/g, respectively. Notably, the as-prepared sorbent demonstrates low water retention and high selectivity for oil, outperforming commercially available oil sorbents. The unique design involving a 3D-film structure, superposed films, and a zigzag-shaped seal offers a sustainable and value-added solution to the issues of LDPE waste and oil spills on water surfaces.

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Bio-based solvents for polyolefin dissolution and membrane fabrication: from plastic waste to value-added materials

Abstract: Polymer membrane fabrication uses mostly non-renewable solvents and materials. Polyolefins are often chosen as inert membrane materials, stable in many solvents and manufactured and used on multimillion-metric-ton scale. However, their...

Cited by 19 publications

References 68 publications

Sustainable membrane technology for water purification—Manufacturing, recycling and environmental impacts

Sustainable membrane technology for water purification—Manufacturing, recycling and environmental impacts

Designing super-fast trimodal sponges using recycled polypropylene for organics cleanup

3D Oleophilic Sorbent Films Based on Recycled Low-Density Polyethylene

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