Open AccessTrash to Treasure: Microwave-Assisted Conversion of Polyethylene to Functional Chemicals
Author(s) -
Eva Bäckström,
Karin Odelius,
Minna Hakkarainen
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
industrial and engineering chemistry research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.878
H-Index - 221
eISSN - 1520-5045
pISSN - 0888-5885
DOI - 10.1021/acs.iecr.7b04091
Subject(s) - low density polyethylene , oxidizing agent , adipic acid , nitric acid , acetic acid , chemistry , polyethylene , organic chemistry , succinic acid , yield (engineering) , glutaric acid , nuclear chemistry , materials science , composite material
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 m...
Accelerating Research
Robert Robinson Avenue,
Oxford Science Park, Oxford
OX4 4GP, United Kingdom
Address
John Eccles HouseRobert Robinson Avenue,
Oxford Science Park, Oxford
OX4 4GP, United Kingdom