A novel process for waste polyvinyl chloride recycling: Plant growth substrate development. Issue 4 (August 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Jun-Ping; Zhang, Cong-Cong; Zhang, Fu-Shen
• Is Part Of: Journal of environmental chemical engineering. Volume 9:Issue 4(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-08
• Subjects: Waste polyvinyl chloride -- Superabsorbent resin -- Surface silanization -- Silane coupling agent -- Growth substrate; Chemical engineering -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental engineering -- Periodicals; Chemical engineering -- Environmental aspects; Environmental engineering; Periodicals; 660.0286
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2021.105475
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2213-2929

Abstract

Abstract: The disposal of waste polyvinyl chloride plastics (PVC) has become a major challenge due to the generation of chlorinated pollutants. In the current study, a new process was developed to produce a novel growth substrate with waste PVC and superabsorbent resin (SAR) as raw materials. The main merits were that no hazardous chlorinated by-products were formed under low reaction temperature and a chemical bridge was constructed between SAR and waste PVC via free radical reaction which effectively prevented the loss of SAR and guaranteed sustainable water supply. Structure and morphology studies confirmed that SAR was firstly modified by various silane coupling agents, then incorporated into waste PVC to prepare the substrate by compression-molding foaming process. The maximum water absorbing ratio of the product reached 623% with only 1.65% mass loss under optimum conditions. Moreover, the tensile strength, elongation at break and compression strength of the substrate increased by 84.37%, 52.53%, and 6.47% than the untreated case, respectively. Furthermore, the swelling behavior, reusability and plant cultivation capacity of the new product were also studied systematically. This study provides an efficient process to recycle waste PVC for a sustainable and cost-effective growth substrate preparation. Graphical Abstract: ga1 Highlights: A new process was developed to recycle waste PVC for a novel growth substrate preparation. The low reaction temperature effectively avoided the formation of toxic chlorinated pollutants. A strong covalent bond linkage has been formed between SAR and PVC through KH550. The formation mechanism of the proposed substrate was elucidated. The prepared substrate showed superior reusability and plant cultivation capacity.