Recycling Plastic Waste by Solid Phase Mixing
Alina Vozniak, Ramin Hosseinnezhad, Artur Różański, Fahmi Zaïri, Iurii Vozniak, Roman Kulagin
Abstract
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide The global plastics problem poses significant environmental, energy, and climate challenges. Various innovative strategies have been proposed for recycling plastics, either in open or closed loops, each addressing different aspects of the problems hindering the achievement of a circular economy. Amidst these efforts, the reuse of mixed plastic waste still remains a particular challenge, arising from immiscibility, resulting in materials with suboptimal properties. In this context, we report a novel recycling strategy based on high-pressure solid-phase mixing of plastic wastes, ensuring the conversion of a binary immiscible polymer mixture into a mixture consisting entirely of the polymer–polymer interphase. The proposed recycling strategy represents a significant advancement as it allows for the production of mixtures with enhanced mechanical properties, all while avoiding the degradation of the initial molecular weight of the polymeric components. The demonstrated effectiveness spans a range of immiscible polymer pairs, including polyolefins, polystyrene, and polyesters, which collectively constitute about 70% of mixed plastic waste.