title: Study of the solubility and stability of polystyrene wastes in a dissolution recycling process.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Castilla-La Mancha Faculty of Chemistry, Avda. Camilo José Cela 12, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain.
authors.forename: María Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gracia
authors.forename: Gema
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Duque
authors.forename: Antonio de
authors.initials: Ad
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.forename: Juan Francisco
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D012995:Solubility; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D011137:Polystyrenes; D012997:Solvents