Study of the solubility and stability of polystyrene wastes in a dissolution recycling process.
Dissolution with suitable solvents is one of the cheapest and more efficient processes for polystyrene waste management. In this work the solubility of polystyrene foams in several solvents benzene, toluene, xylene, tetrahydrofuran, chloroform, 1,3-butanediol, 2-butanol, linalool, geraniol, d-limonene, p-cymene, terpinene, phellandrene, terpineol, menthol, eucalyptol, cinnamaldheyde, nitrobenzene, N,N-dimethylformamide and water has been determined. Experimental results have shown that to develop a "green process" the constituents of essential oils, d-limonene, p-cymene, terpinene, phellandrene, are the most appropriate solvents. The action of these solvent does not produce any degradation of polymer chains. The solubility of the polymer in the mentioned solvents at different temperatures has been investigated. The solvent can be easily recycled by distillation.
García
María Teresa
MT
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Castilla-La Mancha Faculty of Chemistry, Avda. Camilo José Cela 12, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain.
Gracia
Ignacio
I
Duque
Gema
G
Lucas
Antonio de
Ad
Rodríguez
Juan Francisco
JF
D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D012995:Solubility; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*
D011137:Polystyrenes; D012997:Solvents