Combined valorization of industrial and post-consumer plastic waste. An industrial symbiosis approach

Abstract

The aim of this work is to analyze two different strategies based on industrial symbiosis (IS) approaches, for the combined valorization of plastic waste from rubber polymerization process (WSBR) and plastic from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). The proposed strategies are: (a) WSBR as compatibilizer for HIPS/ABS mixtures from WEEE; and (b) WSBR as a component in mixtures with plastics from WEEE (HIPS or ABS). In the first strategy, two different proportions of HIPS/ABS mixtures are studied using three different concentrations of WSBR onto each one. In the second one, mixtures of each plastic WEEE, ABS and HIPS, with two different amounts of WSBR are analyzed. Tensile strength and ductility of ABS with 20 wt% of WSBR, increased around 8% and 40% respectively, with respect to the ABS. Regarding tensile behavior of HIPS and HIPS with 20 wt% of WSBR, both matches up to the break of the last one at a strain of 1.5 %, approximately. Obtained results indicate that the second strategy, is the best one for the combined valorization of both plastic wastes. This conclusion is based on the fact that properties are not deteriorated in successive melt-mixing. It is completely aligned with IS approaches, combining two plastic waste, an industrial one (WSBR) and a postconsumer one (WEEE), for the obtention of new materials with appropriate properties for their use.