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Dissolution of waste plastics in biodiesel
Author(s) -
Zhang Ying,
Mallapragada Surya K.,
Narasimhan Balaji
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.21598
Subject(s) - low density polyethylene , dissolution , materials science , polymer , chemical engineering , solubility , solvent , thermodynamics , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry , physics , engineering
Abstract The dissolution behavior of polystyrene (PS) and low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) in biodiesel was investigated with an eye towards developing methods to dispose waste plastics by burning them with fuel. To complement and guide the experimental investigations, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to calculate solubility parameters, cohesive energy densities, Flory‐Huggins χ parameters and phase diagrams of the target systems. Dissolution kinetics of PS and LDPE in methyl esters was monitored by gravimetry, from which parameters such as dissolution rates, activation energies, and scaling indices were estimated. The shear viscosity of the polymer solutions was measured to ascertain their suitability as fuel mixtures. The dissolution of PS in biodiesel appears to be controlled by the diffusion of polymer chains through a boundary layer adjacent to the polymer/solvent interface. Taken together, the experimental and modeling studies provide a predictive toolbox to design biodiesels of different compositions that will dissolve commodity polymers such as PS and LDPE to be used as fuels in engines. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers