Separation of PET and PS from PET/PS/PP plastic mixture and their use in synthesis of composite floating sorbent materials for dyes removal

Abstract BACKGROUND The large production of polymeric materials worldwide and the difficulty of their decomposition make recycling necessary for both economic and environmental reasons. In this study, the separation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS) from ternary mixtures (polyethylene terephthalate/polystyrene/polypropylene, PET/PS/PP) and their subsequent utilization as sorbent materials was carried out. The carbonaceous sorbent materials based on polymeric matrices that were synthesized and characterized have low densities, resulting in ease of removal by flotation. RESULTS Wetting agents polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and dodecylamine (DA) were used to selectively wet PET and PS, respectively, and the effect of the wetting agents' concentration and pH on the effectiveness of the separation were studied. The recovered polymers were then utilized to prepare carbon composite materials that were used to remove of a test dye, Reactive Black dye, from aqueous solutions. CONCLUSION The results show effective dye removal (nearly 98%) for both composite materials. The sorbents may then be regenerated for further wastewater treatment. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).