Abstract

AbstractIn this study, the micro-plastic emission during polypropylene washing was investigated. Washing post-consumer waste before the re-granulation step is an important process to remove contaminants on the waste material which can interfere with downstream processing and product quality. To simulate a pre-treatment step during mechanical recycling, an industrial washing machine with two different temperatures (30 °C and 60 °C) and residence times (5 min and 15 min) was used. The whole washing effluent was filtered, gravimetrically quantified and with DSC measurements qualitatively identified. Results suggest a release of micro-plastics during washing whereby the residence time has about a two-fold higher impact on possible emissions than temperature. Graphical abstract

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