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Recycled PMMA prepared directly from crude MMA obtained from thermal depolymerization of mixed PMMA waste
Kyriaki Gkaliou1, Lidia Benedini2, Zsuzsa Sárossy2
1Technical University of Denmark, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The Danish Polymer Centre, Kongens Lyngby 2800, Denmark.
Waste Management (New York, N.Y.)
|April 14, 2023
Summary
Recycled polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) can be produced from crude pyrolysis oil without costly purification. Solution and emulsion polymerization methods yield high-quality PMMA, making waste recycling more efficient and sustainable.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Industrial waste polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) presents recycling challenges.
- Pyrolysis offers a method for depolymerizing waste PMMA into valuable monomers.
- Crude pyrolysis oil contains methyl methacrylate (MMA) along with various by-products.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the direct polymerization of crude pyrolysis oils from waste PMMA.
- To assess the feasibility of omitting the distillation/purification step for recycled PMMA production.
- To compare the efficiency and purity of PMMA obtained through different polymerization techniques.
Main Methods:
- Lab-scale pyrolysis of industrial waste PMMA.
- Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) for analyzing pyrolysis oil composition.
- Solution, suspension, emulsion, and casting polymerization of crude pyrolysis oils.
- Extraction and GC-MS analysis of impurities in the resulting PMMA.
Main Results:
- Crude pyrolysis oils, primarily MMA (>85%), can be directly polymerized via solution, emulsion, and casting methods.
- PMMA produced through solution and emulsion polymerization contained minimal impurities, originating mainly from the polymerization process.
- Casting polymerization of crude oils resulted in PMMA with significant residual by-products, necessitating further purification.
- PMMA obtained from direct polymerization closely resembled PMMA produced from pristine monomer.
Conclusions:
- Direct polymerization of crude waste PMMA pyrolysis oil is viable for producing high-quality PMMA.
- Solution and emulsion polymerization techniques are suitable for recycling waste PMMA without prior oil purification.
- Casting polymerization requires additional purification of crude pyrolysis oil for high-purity PMMA applications.
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