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Polymers
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Recycled Polymers: Eco-Design, Structure/Property Relationships and Compatibility II
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Recycled Polymers: Eco-Design, Structure/Property Relationships and Compatibility II

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Circular and Green Sustainable Polymer Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 September 2024) | Viewed by 9047

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Didier Perrin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Polymers Composites Hybrids (PCH) Team, Center of Materials—IMT MINES ALES, 6, Avenue de Clavières, F-30319 Alès, France
Interests: study of stryctural/property relationships in multi-phase polymeric systems; applications to control of the life cycle of polymeric materials; development of efficient second life polymer-based materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Further to the success of the Special Issue of Polymers entitled “Recycled Polymers: Eco-Design, Structure/Property Relationships and Compatibility”, we are delighted to reopen the Special Issue, now entitled “Recycled Polymers: Eco-Design, Structure/Property Relationships and Compatibility II”.

The efficient ecodesign of secondary raw materials from recycled multiphase polymer systems is performed through the following:

  • The study of the compatibility of mixtures of recycled polymers where work on our knowledge of the miscibility of mixtures depends on the different rates and the nature of the constituents;
  • The study of the aging of recycled polymers in terms of the structuring of end-of-life polymers, which may have changed their starting structure due to degradation or aging;
  • The compatibility of mixtures of polymers recycled by additive treatments and/or reactive pre-treatments, including integration of coupling agents or reactants in situ at the interface of the mixtures; this compatibility can be linked beforehand to reactive pre-treatments (plasma, corona, heat/chemical treatments) for each of the phases.

The selection of these three themes follows a study cycle logic on the development of formulations of blends of recycled polymers, in which compatibilization affects the morphology and therefore the miscibility of blends of polymers in relation to their structure.

Prof. Dr. Didier Perrin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • polymer
  • composite
  • end of life
  • ecodesign
  • miscibility
  • compatibilisation
  • blend
  • ageing (aging)
  • treatment
  • secondary raw materials

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 6505 KiB  
Article
Textile Recycling: Efficient Polyester Recovery from Polycotton Blends Using the Heated High-Ethanol Alkaline Aqueous Process
by Kalliopi Elli Pavlopoulou, Kateřina Hrůzová, May Kahoush, Nawar Kadi, Alok Patel, Ulrika Rova, Leonidas Matsakas and Paul Christakopoulos
Polymers 2024, 16(21), 3008; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16213008 - 26 Oct 2024
Viewed by 3127
Abstract
Textile production has doubled in the last 20 years, but only 1% is recycled into new fibers. It is the third largest contributor to water pollution and land use, accounting for 10% of global carbon emissions and 20% of clean water pollution. A [...] Read more.
Textile production has doubled in the last 20 years, but only 1% is recycled into new fibers. It is the third largest contributor to water pollution and land use, accounting for 10% of global carbon emissions and 20% of clean water pollution. A key challenge in textile recycling is blended yarns, such as polycotton blends, which consist of polyester and cotton. Chemical recycling offers a solution, in particular, alkali treatment, which hydrolyzes polyester (PET) into its components while preserving cotton fibers. However, conventional methods require high temperatures, long durations, or catalysts. Our study presents, for the first time, the heated high-ethanol alkaline aqueous (HHeAA) process that efficiently hydrolyzes PET from polycotton at lower temperatures and without a catalyst. A near-complete PET hydrolysis was achieved in 20 min at 90 °C, while similar results were obtained at 70 °C and 80 °C with longer reaction times. The process was successfully scaled at 90 °C for 20 min, and complete PET hydrolysis was achieved, with a significantly reduced liquid-to-solid ratio, from 40 to 7 (L per kg), signifying its potential to be implemented in an industrial context. Additionally, the cotton maintained most of its properties after the treatment. This method provides a more sustainable and efficient approach to polycotton recycling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycled Polymers: Eco-Design, Structure/Property Relationships and Compatibility II)
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19 pages, 13536 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Study on Crystallisation for Virgin and Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET): Multiscale Effects on Physico-Mechanical Properties
by Laurianne Viora, Marie Combeau, Monica Francesca Pucci, Didier Perrin, Pierre-Jacques Liotier, Jean-Luc Bouvard and Christelle Combeaud
Polymers 2023, 15(23), 4613; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15234613 - 4 Dec 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3196
Abstract
Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) (PET) is one of the most used polymers for packaging applications. Modifications induced by service conditions and the means to make this matter circular have to be understood to really close the loop (from bottle to bottle for example). Physico-chemical properties, [...] Read more.
Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) (PET) is one of the most used polymers for packaging applications. Modifications induced by service conditions and the means to make this matter circular have to be understood to really close the loop (from bottle to bottle for example). Physico-chemical properties, crystalline organisation, and mechanical behaviour of virgin PET (vPET) are compared with those of recycled PET (rPET). Using different combined experimental methods (Calorimetry, Small Angle X-ray Scattering [SAXS], Atomic Force Microscopy [AFM], Dynamic Mechanical Analysis [DMA], and uniaxial tensile test), it has been proven that even if there is no change in the crystallinity of PET, the crystallisation process shows some differences (size and number of spherulites). The potential impact of these differences on local mechanical characterisation is explored and tends to demonstrate the development of a homogeneous microstructure, leading to well-controlled and relevant local mechanical property characterisation. The main contribution of the present study is a better understanding of crystallisation of PET and recycled PET during forming processes such as thermoforming or Injection Stretch Blow Moulding (ISBM), during which elongation at the point of breaking can depend on the microstructure conditioned by the crystallisation process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycled Polymers: Eco-Design, Structure/Property Relationships and Compatibility II)
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20 pages, 3794 KiB  
Article
Circular Design and Functionalized Upcycling of Waste Commodity Polystyrene via C-H Activation Using Microwave-Assisted Multicomponent Synthesis
by Shegufta Shetranjiwalla, Claire Cislak and Kevin M. Scotland
Polymers 2023, 15(14), 3108; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15143108 - 21 Jul 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2161
Abstract
The inefficient reuse and recycling of plastics—and the current surge of medical and take-out food packaging use during the pandemic—have exacerbated the environmental burden. This impels the development of alternative recycling/upcycling methods to pivot toward circularity. We report the use of the Mannich [...] Read more.
The inefficient reuse and recycling of plastics—and the current surge of medical and take-out food packaging use during the pandemic—have exacerbated the environmental burden. This impels the development of alternative recycling/upcycling methods to pivot toward circularity. We report the use of the Mannich three-component coupling reaction for the modification of polystyrene (PS) recovered with a 99.1% yield from waste food containers to form functionalized nitrogen and oxygen-rich PS derivatives. A series of functionalized PS with increasing moles of formaldehyde (F) and morpholine (M) (0.5 × 10−2, 1.0 × 10−2, and 2.0 × 10−2 mol) was achieved using a sol–gel-derived Fe-TiO2 catalyst in a solvent-free, microwave-assisted synthesis. Modified polymers were characterized with viscometry, 1H NMR, 13CNMR (DEPT) FTIR, XPS, UV, and TGA. Functionalization scaled with an increasing ratio, validating the 3CR approach. Further functionalization was constrained by a competing oxidative degradation; however, the varying hydrogen bond density due to nitrogen and oxygen-rich species at higher ratios was shown to compensate for molecular weight loss. The integration of the N-cyclic quaternary ammonium cations exhibited the potential of functionalized polymers for ion-exchange membrane applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recycled Polymers: Eco-Design, Structure/Property Relationships and Compatibility II)
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