Abstract

As we continue using plastics, the quantity of plastic waste also continues to pollute our land and oceans. To mitigate the plastic waste crisis, various firms are trying to recycle polymers. However, plastics often contain many additives and colorants, that pose additional challenges to recycling. Removing these contaminants is necessary to increase the polymer’s recyclability and ensure that the recovered polymer still has economic value by restoring thermal and mechanical properties. Solvent extraction has shown promising results by removing some insoluble contaminants without altering the material’s chemical and mechanical properties. This study will investigate the recyclability of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) polymer and its contaminants' removal, especially Carbon Black (CB) pigments. A three step method has been developed and optimized using solvent, collector solvent, and anti-solvent. Ethyl acetate was chosen to solubilize ABS (step 1) and methanol and hexane to precipitate ABS (step 3). Deionized water was selected to successfully attract CB (step 2) thanks to hydrogen bonding. The results of the recovered ABS (46-75%), showed that both mechanical and chemical properties were similar to the initial ABS, through TGA, DSC, FTIR, and GPC analysis. Remarkably, color measurements assessed the removal of CB pigment with L values up to 62.7 (compared with 28.5 for the initial ABS). The separation process used in this work helped purify the recycled polymer by eliminating CB pigment. As a result, the recycled material is suitable for a wider range of applications.