Conversion/Recycling of Ethylene-Based Copolymers: Is it Feasible in SCF-Water Mixtures (SGER)

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9509608 McHugh Recycling polymers and copolymers is a technological problem that must be addressed if the amount of solid waste being landfilled in the United States is to be reduced. The challenge is to develop technology that performs the recycling in an economic manner without the concomitant generation of solvent waste that would negate any environmental benefits. Many researchers have suggested decomposing polymers into their building blocks using supercritical water. a different scenario is suggested in this program where the copolymer is converted into an alternate structure that potentially has higher commercial value than the starting material. The envisioned conversion process would use near-critical water rather than supercritical water which reduces the thermal energy requirements of the process. The differences in the solubility characteristics of the various polymers and copolymers in the near-critical solution would facilitate separating one type of copolymer from another. The successful development of this new conversion/recycling process to a great extent depends on a good understanding of these copolymers in the process solvent solution. However, the focus of this proposed study is to determine the feasibility of these ideas rather than to develop an in-depth understanding of the thermodynamics and kinetics of the process. Selected solubility and kinetics experiments will be performed to highlight the potential of this process. The successful demonstration of the concepts for this new process would create the groundwork for the development of a more detailed proposal to determine the thermodynamic, kinetic, and separations variables that would insure the economic viability of the process.