Hands-on Laboratory Experiments for Demonstrating Mixed Plastic Recycling
Hands-on Laboratory Experiments for Demonstrating Mixed Plastic Recycling
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DOI：
10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00702
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发表时间：
2022-11
影响因子：
3
通讯作者：
Mikaela Sadri;Paul Smith;Samaria Spears;Jonathan Perkins;Carl Dewitt;Shane Savannah;Cameron Butler;Zhe Qiang
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Mikaela Sadri;Paul Smith;Samaria Spears;Jonathan Perkins;Carl Dewitt;Shane Savannah;Cameron Butler;Zhe Qiang
近年来，由于一次性塑料应用的大量增加，塑料废物日益受到关注。尽管垃圾数量不断增加，但回收塑料并不是一个简单的过程，因为分类困难，这导致材料性能显著下降。这个动手实验展示了典型回收过程中的重要知识步骤，包括废物收集，塑料分离和分类方法，处理技术以及表征方法，包括扫描电子显微镜（SEM）和拉伸测试。此外，本实验证明了材料间混溶的重要性，并提供了少量嵌段共聚物（bcp）可以相容不混溶的混合塑料废物，从而提高回收产品的材料性能的证据。透过这些有趣的实践课程，同学们不但了解混合塑胶废物回收的挑战及工业解决方案，更认识到透过废物管理保护环境的重要性。
Plastic waste is a growing concern in recent years due to the massive increase in single-use plastic applications. Despite the ever-increasing amount of waste, recycling plastics is not a simple process due to difficulties in sorting, which results in significantly downgraded material properties. This hands-on lab experiment showcases the important knowledge steps in a typical recycling process, including waste collection, plastic separation and sorting methods, processing techniques, and characterization methods including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tensile testing. Additionally, this lab demonstrates the importance of miscibility between materials and provides evidence that small amounts of block copolymers (BCPs) can compatibilize immiscible mixed plastic waste, leading to enhanced material properties of recycled products. Through these engaging hands-on lessons, students can not only obtain a better understanding about the challenge and industrial solution of mixed plastic waste recycling, but also realize the importance for protecting environments through waste management.