Study on recycling and characterization of some waste polymers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Chemical recycling of waste polymers is one of the important recent objective.The wastepolyethelene that present in two structures (LDPE&HDPE),beside waste polypropylene ,polystyrene and poly(vinyl chloride) were recycled using the dissolution/reprecipitation method. The studied waste polymers were washed and grinded into few millimeter size and then examined by FT-IR spectroscopy and their thermal stability were examined by TG and DTA analysis. Different types of solvents and non-solvents(precipitators) were used for dissolving waste polymers and reprecipitate as polymer segments, respectively, with slight depression in their molecular weight and melting point. The dissolving method was applied using different organic solvents and at suitable temperature in order to recycle the waste polymers with cheap solvent and non-solvent and using a simplest method. This technique provide polymer recovery more than 90%. FT-IR study for recovered polymers was shown no change in polymer structure.TG-DTA investigations were appeared weakness in thermal properties of recovered polymers. The average molecular weights of the studied waste polymers and their recycle precipitate were measured and their melting point also have been examined.

Keywords

• polymerrecycling
• reprecipitation method
• thermal analysis
• viscosity-average moleculer weigh