EFRI E3P: End of Life Plastics as Starting Materials for Filtration and Barrier Applications

EFRI E3P：报废塑料作为过滤和屏障应用的起始材料

• 批准号: 2029387
• 负责人: Steven Weinman
• 金额: $ 199.89万
• 依托单位: University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2024-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2029387&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EFRI; E3P; End; Life; Plastics

Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are types of plastic that make major contributions to the amount of pollution the environment. In this project, the investigators aim to “upcycle” (rather than recycle) plastic wastes into value-added products for filter and barrier applications through three approaches. They will design waterproof, thermally and electrically insulating elastomers through controlled PVC degradation and crosslinking to transform the waste PVC into Neoprene®-substitute materials that can be 3D printed to form seals, gaskets, and a variety of other products. This provides a new pathway to valuable rubbers, prevents the release of toxic compounds, and reduces reliance on the hazardous feedstocks currently used in rubber manufacture. The investigators will engineer new green solvents to overcome the challenges of dissolving and reprocessing PP and PET, which will allow for safer handling/processing of polymer solutions, drive process intensification, and reduce health and safety risks posed by the current processing conditions. They will make non-woven fabrics commonly used for household air filters and mechanical supports for water treatment membranes, from waste PP or PET which will improve the environmental impact of air and water filtration to help ensure clean air for buildings and drinking water. Additionally, field sampling of plastic in the aquatic ecosystems will provide real waste samples for the upcycling methods, and an estimate of the capacity for these approaches to reduce plastic pollution. The proposed research will be carried out by graduate and undergraduate students, who will collaboratively develop research plans, mentor local HBCU students through a summer immersion experience, and perform STEM outreach to local K-12 students from underrepresented groups.This project aims to create transformative new avenues for converting common waste plastics, specifically PP, PVC, and PET, into value-added products. The investigators hypothesize: (1) if waste PVC is chemically processed in a controlled manner via partial dehydrochlorination and subsequent crosslinking, then valuable elastomers with tunable properties can be directly produced without relying on new petroleum-based monomers, (2) if a new approach to molecular design using combined experimental and computational methods is developed around molecules with glycerol skeletons, then PET and PP can be dissolved and reprocessed under safer handling/processing conditions, and (3) if PET and PP fibers recovered from waste are used in non-woven fabrics, they will not change air filter performance properties and performance of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes synthesized on top of these fabrics compared to those on top of commercial non-woven fabrics. A fundamental understanding will be gained on how solvent choice, additives, plasticizers, dyes, fillers, etc. impact PVC dehydrochlorination, PVDF membrane separation properties, and household air filter properties. New knowledge will be gained about the effectiveness of these processes on eliminating waste plastic from entering aquatic ecosystems. A techno-economic analysis will generate knowledge on the commercial feasibility of these new ways of upcycling plastics and provide guidance for further improvements.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

聚乙烯（PE）、聚丙烯（PP）、聚氯乙烯（PVC）和聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PET）是对环境污染量做出主要贡献的塑料类型。在这个项目中，研究人员的目标是通过三种方法将塑料废物“升级”（而不是回收）为过滤器和屏障应用的增值产品。他们将通过控制PVC降解和交联来设计防水、隔热和电绝缘的弹性体，将废PVC转化为Neoprene®替代材料，这些材料可以3D打印形成密封件、垫圈和各种其他产品。这为生产有价值的橡胶提供了新的途径，防止了有毒化合物的释放，并减少了对目前橡胶生产中使用的危险原料的依赖。研究人员将设计新的绿色溶剂，以克服溶解和再加工PP和PET的挑战，这将允许更安全地处理/加工聚合物溶液，推动工艺强化，并减少当前加工条件带来的健康和安全风险。他们将利用废弃的PP或PET制造用于家庭空气过滤器和水处理膜机械支撑的无纺布，这将改善空气和水过滤对环境的影响，以帮助确保建筑物和饮用水的清洁空气。此外，对水生生态系统中的塑料进行实地采样将为升级回收方法提供真实的废物样本，并估计这些方法减少塑料污染的能力。该研究将由研究生和本科生共同开展，他们将合作制定研究计划，通过暑期沉浸式体验指导当地HBCU学生，并对来自代表性不足群体的当地K-12学生进行STEM推广。该项目旨在为将普通废塑料，特别是PP，PVC和PET转化为增值产品创造变革性的新途径。研究人员假设：（1）如果通过部分脱氯化氢和随后的交联以受控的方式对废PVC进行化学处理，则可以直接生产具有可调性能的有价值的弹性体，而不依赖于新的石油基单体，（2）如果围绕具有甘油骨架的分子开发了使用结合的实验和计算方法的分子设计的新方法，则PET和PP可以在更安全的处理/加工条件下溶解和再加工，和（3）如果从废物中回收的PET和PP纤维用于非织造织物，它们不会改变空气过滤器的性能特性和聚偏氟乙烯（PVDF）的性能，在这些织物上合成的膜与在商业非织造织物上合成的膜相比。本课程将从根本上了解溶剂选择、添加剂、增塑剂、染料、填料等如何影响PVC脱氯化氢、PVDF膜分离性能和家用空气过滤器性能。将获得有关这些过程在消除废塑料进入水生生态系统方面的有效性的新知识。通过技术经济分析，我们将了解这些塑料升级回收新方法的商业可行性，并为进一步改进提供指导。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Glycerol‐derived solvents containing two or three distinct functional groups enabled by trifluoroethyl glycidyl ether

含有两个或三个由三氟乙基缩水甘油醚启用的不同官能团的甘油衍生溶剂

• DOI: 10.1002/aic.17533
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: AIChE Journal
• 影响因子: 3.7
• 作者: Qian, Shuai;Liu, Xiaoyang;Turner, Christoffer Heath;Bara, Jason E.
• 通讯作者: Bara, Jason E.

Benchmarking Semiempirical QM Methods for Calculating the Dipole Moment of Organic Molecules

用于计算有机分子偶极矩的半经验 QM 方法的基准测试

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.1c10144
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: The Journal of Physical Chemistry A
• 作者: Soyemi, Ademola;Szilvási, Tibor
• 通讯作者: Szilvási, Tibor

Upcycled Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Electrospun Nanofibers from Waste PVC-Based Materials for Water Treatment

• DOI: 10.1021/acsaenm.3c00245
• 发表时间: 2023-06
• 期刊: ACS Applied Engineering Materials
• 作者: Atta Ur Razzaq;D. J. McEachern;P. Rupar;Phoebe R. Willis;S. Mahmoodi;M. Esfahani

Calculated Physicochemical Properties of Glycerol-Derived Solvents to Drive Plastic Waste Recycling

计算甘油衍生溶剂的物理化学性质以驱动塑料废物回收

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.2c04567
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
• 影响因子: 4.2
• 作者: Soyemi, Ademola;Szilvási, Tibor
• 通讯作者: Szilvási, Tibor

Synthesis and properties of symmetric glycerol-derived 1,2,3-triethers and 1,3-diether-2-ketones for CO2 absorption

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2021.117150
• 发表时间: 2022-02
• 期刊: Chemical Engineering Science
• 影响因子: 4.7
• 作者: Shuai Qian;Xiaoyang Liu;C. Turner;J. Bara