Thermal Transformation of End-of-Life Latex to Valuable Materials

Enamul Haque,Farshid Pahlevani,Rumana Hossain,Veena Sahajwalla,Narjes Gorjizadeh

doi:10.3390/jcs4040166

Abstract

Recent studies have demonstrated that carbon nanomaterials have huge potential in composite applications, but there is a continuous quest for identifying the most viable technique for producing this material. In this study, the possibility of using an innovative approach for the synthesis of value-added carbon nanomaterials and green gases from end-of-life soft mattress materials (latex) was investigated. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to determine the thermal degradation of latex. Quantitative gas analysis at three different temperatures by infrared spectroscopy (IR) suggested that small gas molecules, especially CH4, could be produced at a higher temperature. The carbon residues produced after gas analysis were characterised by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, and Raman spectroscopy, suggesting the possibility of direct synthesis of carbon nanomaterials from waste latex. These carbon materials have Na, Zn, Si, and K in their structure, and further study is needed for understanding the effect of these elements on composite properties. Our study demonstrated that heat treatment of waste latex at 1000 °C for 15 min produced carbon materials, which contained 7–16% S and 1.2–2% N, and gases, such as CH4, could be synthesised.

Highlights

Several studies have shown that carbon nanomaterials with heteroatoms as fillers are a promising way to further improve the properties of composite materials [1]
The waste latex can be suggested as a remarkable material to produce green gases, especially methane
The quantitative gas analysis suggested that temperature had significant effect on the production of CH4 gas

Summary

Introduction

Several studies have shown that carbon nanomaterials with heteroatoms (nitrogen, boron, sulphur and phosphorous) as fillers are a promising way to further improve the properties of composite materials [1]. Carbon nanomaterials containing nitrogen have been proved to promote the interaction of sulphur atoms with the carbon matrix [2]. Zhou et al [5] presented a Li/polysulphide battery with a high-energy density and long-cyclic life using three-dimensional nitrogen/sulphur co-doped graphene sponge electrodes. The presence of heteroatoms in carbon materials enhances the performance of carbon nanomaterials in electrochemistry applications [6]. N, S dual doping may induce redistribution of spin and charge densities, providing a large number of active sites favourable for high catalytic activity [1,12,15,16]. Numerous efforts have been devoted to S-doped carbon, a universal heterogeneous carbon-based electrode material [20]

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Conclusion