Recycling Plastic Waste for Environmental Remediation in Water Purification and CO₂ Capture

Abstract

The synthesis of hyper-cross-linked polymers (HCPs) is typically achieved using costly reagents. This study demonstrates the utilization of a plastic waste, Styrofoam, to create a series of HCPs through a one-pot Friedel−Crafts reaction. The influence of substrate, catalyst, and cross-linker ratio was investigated to yield HCPs with Brunauer−Emmett−Teller (BET) surface areas up to 1199 m 2 /g. We exploited this recyclate HCP for carbon capture from flue gas, dye removal, and As(V) sequestration from water. The adsorption capabilities of this cost-effective adsorbent were comparable to and surpassed current state-of-the-art nanoporous materials such as metal−organic frameworks (MOFs), activated carbon, zeolites, and other HCPs.

Synthesis and characterization of waste Styrofoam hypercrosslinked polymer as an adsorbent for CO2 capture

“…According to the EDX analysis, the synthesized adsorbent's skeleton comprises 83.68% carbon, 14.66% oxygen, and 1.57% chlorine, which were generated by Friedel–Craft process participant particles 71,74 . In addition, the trace amount of Fe (0.09%) in the HCP indicated that the washing procedure employed during synthesis is complete 2 . Thermal stability was examined employing thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) under the N 2 atmosphere to determine the degree of degradation in the compositional and structural scale of the WSHC adsorbent, as displayed in Figure 5a.…”

“…71,74 In addition, the trace amount of Fe (0.09%) in the HCP indicated that the washing procedure employed during synthesis is complete. 2 Thermal stability was examined employing thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) under the N 2 atmosphere to determine the and a major weight loss at about 400 C and 500 C: 75 The weight loss between 300 C and 400 C can be ascribed to the breakage of bonds between C al and O. 76 The weight loss between 400 C and 500 C can be considered related to the breakage of bonds between C al and C al.…”

“…Globally, 350 million tons of plastic are manufactured each year for various purposes, such as packaging, building, transportation, and electronics 1 . Regrettably, just 14%–18% of waste plastics manufactured each year are recycled, and the remainder is burnt (24%), disposed of in landfills, or released into the natural surroundings (58%–62%) 2 . Polystyrene has one of the most challenging recycling processes of all plastic materials due to collection issues, high costs, and complicated logistics 3,4 .…”

“…Plastics generally break down into tiny fragments that can strangle animals 9,12 . Styrofoam can be recycled in various ways, one of which is by hypercrosslinking it 2,14 …”

“…9,12 Styrofoam can be recycled in various ways, one of which is by hypercrosslinking it. 2,14 The CO 2 content in the atmosphere, which is currently 390 parts per million, has gradually increased since the Industrial Revolution. 15,16 Due to our rising reliance on fossil fuels to supply energy needs, the release of the greenhouse gas CO 2 has risen dramatically during the time.…”