Abstract
Abstract The impact of ionic liquid (IL) solution on the recycling process of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste containers used to store drinking water, with a focus on optimizing the added percentage and processing conditions of IL was studied. Characterization using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nano-indentation tests were performed. Generally, an increase in the degradation temperatures was observed with increasing IL%. Since they were quite comparable, their good thermal stability could be considered. An increase in the hardness was noticed from 0.41 at 0% to 0.45 at a 2% IL solution. A rise in the modulus of elasticity was also observed from 5.5 GPa at 0% to 8 GPa at 2% IL solution. Although there has been some improvement in the properties of the IL blends, limitations such as IL cost and their effective recycling remains a challenge and needs more efforts to fully explore their potential.
Highlights
Plastic or polymeric consumption has increased rapidly due to the change in the customer lifestyle that has led to the progressive escalating of waste production
Almost similar melting temperatures, varying between 226°C-229°C were obtained for all the prepared blends, which corresponds to good thermal stability, and an increase in their degradation temperatures from 215°C to 225°C was obtained for all the blends prepared
It could be concluded that the product of degradation of the reaction is decomposed compared to polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Summary
Plastic or polymeric consumption has increased rapidly due to the change in the customer lifestyle that has led to the progressive escalating of waste production. Researchers are stimulated to work on finding environmental solutions to resolve the problem of the accumulating and the increasing waste of polymeric materials to preserve the natural resources of the earth. Ionic liquids (ILs), or molten salts, are a combination of cations and anions that melt below 100°C. They are environmentally benign and have shown good potential as replacements to VOC’s in several applications. Due to their unique properties such as high chemical stability, low vapor pressure, low flammability, high conductivity, and excellent solubility towards organic compounds, ILs are being explored extensively in the field of polymerization[1,2]. Since a significant advantage of ILs is their recyclability, ILs containing dissolved catalysts are frequently used in reaction cycles[3]
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