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PLASTIC WASTE
MODULE 1
PLASTICS WASTE

MANAGEMENT
GEN ERATION &
SEPARATION
TECHNIQUES

Pooja Nandakumar .N
Assistant Professor ( Chemical Engineering)
CIPET:IPT- Chennai

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Plastic is defned as a material composed mainly of an organic

substrate of high molecular weight maintaining solidity in its fInal state,
and, in certain stage in the manufacturing processing prior to being
turned into fnished product, can undergo shaping by fLow.

• The generation of plastics waste has been stimulated by increased

production coupled with an increasing population, and it is
responsible for the world’s present environmental crisis.

• The rapidly increasing demand and production of plastics has led to

increased pollution and the replacement of many non-plastic items
in the market place.

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 APPLICATIONS OF PLASTICS
 Plastics are an attractive manufacturing material due to the fact
they can be used in a wide range of applications and exhibit high
performance characteristics, including good mechanical strength
and toughness, strong dimensional stability and processing
advantages. Plastics are used in a variety of sectors including:
 • Education: computers, mobile communications, fibre optics and
the Internet all rely on plastics.
 • Healthcare: hygienic, safe plastics, advance medical
technology and are critical in life-enhancing and life-saving
surgery.
 • Construction: light-weight doors, windows and so on.
 • Maximising natural resources: plastics enable water/food
preservation and distribution, using less to do more, e.g.,
lightweight plastic packaging.
 • Energy conservation and efficiency: light-weight plastic vehicle
components maximise fuel efficiency and insulation prevents
domestic heat loss.
 • Renewables: plastics are key to solar and wind power
generation.

 Energy Saving
 In Manufacturing of Plastics
 Production of Plastic Products
 End use
 Recycling
 Incineration – Maximum energy recovery from plastic Waste

 Eco - Friendly
 Plastics help in Conserving Natural Resources like Wood
 Conservation of Precious oil.

 Economical
 Plastics are superior to conventional materials in terms of
 Cost of performance balance
 Weight to Performance balance

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Plastics and Conventional Materials – Comparison

Plastics and the Atmosphere

• The energy required to break chemical bonds usually comes

from ultraviolet (UV) light, stress, heat or pollutants, and
oxygen.

• The main cause of polymer degradation is oxygen, hence an

atmosphere lacking oxygen would have a detrimental effect
on the degradation of plastics as oxidation would not occur .

• The weak chemical bonds of polymer chains can also be

broken due to poor manufacturing techniques or during the
use of the material.

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Plastics and the Marine Environment

• In the 1970s, biologists first reported that seabirds were voraciously
eating plastic. Around 50 species of seabirds appear to seek out
plastic pellets mistaking them for the small, shrimp-like crustaceans
they normally they eat ; it has also been reported that fish, turtles,
whales and so on, consume plastic.
• Animals that consume plastic may die of starvation as their
digestive tracts become blocked or ulcerated. The toxic
chemicals present in some plastics exert a range of effects from
the thinning of eggshells to death.
• In addition to raw plastic, plastic packaging also enters the marine
environment in enormous quantities. In 1982 it was estimated that
merchant ships alone dump some 639,000 plastic containers into
the ocean every day

Plastics and Agriculture

• The use of plastics in agriculture results in an increased
accumulation of plastics waste in rural areas.
• Part of this plastic waste may be recycled, particularly greenhouse
films, silage films and fertiliser packaging, sacks, pipes and other
plastic products.
• Other portions of agricultural plastic waste are difficult to recycle
for technical and/or financial reasons. In some cases, thin
mulching films, thin low tunnel and direct cover films are classed
as waste of low recyclability; very thin films are usually heavily
contaminated by soil and foreign materials.
• Furthermore, the use of plastics for mulching in agriculture has
increased the plastic litter problem in rural communities.

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New York North Carolina Louisiana

Bahamas Belize Mexico

The need for recycling

 • Plastic processes and activities should be chosen
which produce the lowest amount of waste.
 • The production of hazardous waste from antimony
and lead and so on, should be kept to a minimum.
 • All feasible and reasonable steps should be taken to
recycle and reuse materials from plastics waste and
convert this waste into useful marketable products.
 • The waste disposal process should include
arrangements for the disposal of plastics waste that
cannot be reclaimed, such as degraded polyvinyl
chloride. Disposal should reduce the level of risk to
public health, water supplies and the environment to
acceptable levels.

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Remember

“Plastics do not litter, people do”

Stop anyone littering your environment

However, some waste will still be generated,

what should we do with that?

Littering
 High visibility and eye – catching colors of carry bags (mainly ) attracts
the attention of people.

 A number of Municipal corporation and states in the country have tried

to curb the use of thin carry bags.

 Littering – an Attitudinal Problem of People.

Cause
 our throw-a way culture
Solution
 Systematic disposal
 Organized collection
 Scientific disposal

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Dioxine – A Reality
 The whole family of Poly Chlorinated Dibenzo- Dioxins
(PCDD) and furans.
 Most toxic dioxine is 2,3,7,8 Tetra Chloro Dibenzo Dioxin
(TCDD)
 Among the family of Polymers the only Dioxin source is PVC
or Chlorine containing Polymers.
 They are produced in two processes in the life cycle of PVC
 1st – Manufacturing of VCM
 2nd Incineration of Waste Containing PVC

(cont….)

 Carry bags do not release Dioxin being an inert material made out of
Polyolefins
 Dioxin the name percolated into every ordinary citizen’s mind is released
by
1. Paper and Pulp Industry
2. Petrol and Automobile Oil
3. Incinerators
4. Chlorinated Solvents
5. PVC
6. Water Treatment Plant
7. Pesticides
8. Metallurgy and other secondary fields

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Plastics are Non-Biodegradable

 All Manmade products will have an impact on environment

 Necessary to understand which of the products will impose least

burden on environment

 Tinplate, glass, Aluminium are also not biodegradable

 Biodegradable cannot be the sole criteria for selecting a

packaging material
Eg:Wood-Natural resource, Renewable and Biodegradable
Cutting Timber or deforestation would cause more harm to
environment

PLASTIC PRODUCT – CLASSIFICATION

(Based on Service Life Span)

Short Life Long Life

Carry bags Chairs
Woven Sacks Crates
Bottles Pipes
Disposable cups Profile
Syringes etc., Automobile
Bio medical plastic products IT-Components

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TYPOLOGY OF PLASTIC WASTE

Primary Collection scheme

Voluntary
Origin of Plastic Waste Internal Private Rag Pickers Schemes
Recycling Collection

Household Waste
* * *
*
Post user Plastic waste

Agricultural

Industrial
*
Retailers
*
Municipal Solid Waste
* * *
Hospital

Plastic Processor
Waste
* *
Pre user
Waste

Resin manufactures
Waste
* *

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Plastic Waste
Plastics waste arises at the levels of

production
source separation, identification, and recycling is
conversion straightforward

Consumption - difficult to collect at a reasonable cost.

• antioxidants (1%)
• heat and light stabilizers (5%)
• plasticizers (40%)
• impact resistance enhancers (10%)
• pigments, colorants and dyestuffs
(5%)
• flame retardants (15%)
• mould-release agents
• foaming agents (2%)
• fillers (40%)

Mismanagement of Plastics Waste

o Spoils beauty of the city

o Choke drains

o Make Public places filthy

o When burnt may cause air pollution

o Interferes in waste processing facilities and may also cause

problems in landfill operations;

o Recycling industries operating in non-conforming areas are

posing unhygienic problems to the environment

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Plastics Waste

The plastics waste constitutes two major category of plastics;

(i) Thermoplastics
(ii) Thermoset plastics

Thermoplastics - recyclable plastics

PET, LDPE, PVC, HDPE, PP, PS etc.

Thermoset plastics - alkyd, epoxy, ester, melamine

formaldehyde, phenolic formaldehyde, silicon, urea
formaldehyde, polyurethane,metalised and multilayer
plastics etc.

Thermoplastics
• Thermoplastics are created from monomers and, upon the
application of heat and pressure, in the presence of a catalyst, a
polymer is produced.
• During the process, monomers join with each other and the chain
length grows until the reactive ends combine, which stops chain
growth at that point.
• During the polymerisation reaction, the polymer chains
simultaneously grow in length. The addition of predetermined
inhibitors (chain growth stoppers) can produce polymers with a
consistent average chain length, which is a key factor in
determining many properties of the plastic and its processing
characteristics.
• Increasing the chain length increases toughness, creep resistance,
stress-crack resistance, melt temperature (Tm), melt viscosity and
leads to processing difficulty due to the non-degradable nature of
the polymer.

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Thermosets
• The production of thermoset plastics is quite different to that of
thermoplastics; thermoset polymerisation occurs via a two-stage
curing process using a material and moulding technique.
• It is polymerised via a reaction between two chemicals in the
presence of peroxide and an accelerator, with or without heat,
and the resulting pressure depends upon the reacting molecules.
• The majority of linear molecules are formed at the initial stage and
even the linear chains contain unreacted portions which are
capable of flowing under heat and pressure. The final stage of
thermoset polymerisation occurs in the moulding press.
• Under pressure, the partially reacted compound undergoes
crosslinking reactions between the molecular chains.
• Thermoset monomers with three or more reactive ends lead its
molecular chains to crosslink in three dimensions. Flexible
thermosets have longer chains with fewer crosslinks. A thermoset
plastic has strong, interconnected permanent bonds which are not
heat reversible.

Types of recycling

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Types of recycling

Primary recycling involves processing of a waste/scrap into a product

with characteristics similar to those of original product.

Secondary recycling involves processing of waste/scrap plastics into

materials that have characteristics different from those of original
plastics product.

Tertiary recycling involves the production of basic chemicals and fuels

from plastics waste/scrap as part of the municipal waste stream or as a
segregated waste.

Quaternary recycling retrieves the energy content of waste/scrap

plastics by burning / incineration. This process is not in use in India.

Limits of recycling

• Recycling treats wastes only after they’ve

already been made
• Recycling has not reduced the total amount of
municipal wastes being generated
• Recycling has no effect on how products are
produced or packaged by manufacturers

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Depolymerization
The process of converting a polymer into a monomer or a
mixture of monomers.
o Hydrolysis
o Acidolysis
o Aminolysis
o Hydrogenation
o Thermal depolymerization

Hydrolysis

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Acidolysis

Aminolysis

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Hydrogenation

Thermal Depolymerization
 Disoredereddepolymerization
 Ordered depolymerization

Ceiling temperature

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Polymer degradation
 Chain End Degradation
 Random Degradation

 Thermal degradation – c-c bond, aromatic groups in

backbone
 Mechanical degradation
 Degradation by ultrasonic waves
 Photo-degradation
 Degradation by high energy radiation
 Oxidative degradation
 Biodegradation

Degradable polymers – Photodegradation (carbonyl groups)

Bio degradation (aliphatic esters - esterases)
Eg: Poly vinyl alcohol
Poly ethylene - co – vinyl alcohol
Poly vinyl acetate
Ethylene Vinyl acetate copolymer (fungi)
Poly hydroxy butyrate (PHB)
Poly 3 – hydroxy butyrate – co hydroxy valerate
starch + ethylene and acrylic acid
Co polymerize ethylene with carbonyl groups
Poly (α – hydroxy esters) – PLA, PGA
Poly (ε – caprolactone)
Poly ortho ester
Polyanhydrides

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COMPOSITION OF
PLASTIC WASTES

COMPOSITION OF
PLASTIC WASTES

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COMPOSITION OF
PLASTIC WASTES

PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS

CHARACTERISTICS OF PLASTICS

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PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS

ANALYTICAL PROCEDURE

• Each plastic analysis begins with screening tests.

• In addition to the observation of several characteristics, such as
solubility, density, softening, and melting behavior, an important role
is played by heating in a combustion tube (pyrolysis test) and in an
open flame (flame test).
• If these preliminary tests do not yield a positive identification,
examine the materials for the presence of heteroatoms such as
nitrogen, halogens (especially chlorine and fluorine), and sulfur.
• Then begin a systematic analysis by testing the solubility, and
proceed to simple specific tests.
• In addition, try to identify the possible presence of organic or
inorganic fillers or other additives such as plasticizers or stabilizers.

Unfortunately, the simple approaches discussed here seldom give

reliable information about the type and amounts of such additives.

PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS

ANALYTICAL PROCEDURE
Sample Preparation
• Plastics as a raw material are usually in the form of powders,
granules, and very occasionally dispersions. After processing, they
are usually encountered as films, plates, profiles, or molded products.
• A flame test, can be carried out on the original form (granules, chips,
etc.).
• For finely divided or powdery state use a mill or a coffee grinder.
• For tough or elastic materials use chilling, e. g., by adding dry
ice to make it brittle
• To remove additives Extraction or precipitation methods
• To remove stabilizers or lubricants extract with ether or other
organic solvents or shake the finely divided sample with ether or to
heat the sample in ether for several hours under reflux.
• To separate Linear polymers from fillers or reinforcing agents (glass or
carbon fibers) dissolve them in suitable solvents. Cross linked
plastics cannot be separated from fillers in this way due to their
insolubility.
However, it is frequently necessary to try special methods, which vary
from case to case.

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PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
SCREENING TESTS
Solubility

PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
SCREENING TESTS
Density

Approximate Densities of Important Plastics

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PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
SCREENING TESTS
Behavior on Heating – Pyrolysis, Flame Test & Melting Behavior

Dependence of tensile strength σ and of

elongation δ on temperature for amorphous
thermoplastics (A) and partially crystalline
thermoplastics (B)

PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
SCREENING TESTS
Pyrolysis Tests

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PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
SCREENING TESTS - Flame Test

Behavior of Plastics on Burning (Flame Test)

PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
SCREENING TESTS- Flame Test

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PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
SCREENING TESTS
Melting Behavior

PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
SPECIFIC IDENTIFICATION TESTS
• Liebermann-Storch-Morawski Reaction
• Color Reaction with p-Dimethylaminobenzaldehyde
• The Gibbs Indophenol Test
• Formaldehyde Test
LSMR – Add few drops of sample I 2ml hot acetic acid
Cool it and add H2so4
Watch colour change

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PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
SPECIFIC IDENTIFICATION TESTS
• Color Reaction with p-Dimethylaminobenzaldehyde
Heat 0.1
mg sample
Place the product
on cotton
Dip it in solution of dmab
and sulphuric acid
If blue it indicates polycarbonate,
red indicates polyamide

PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
SPECIFIC IDENTIFICATION TESTS
• Gibbs test

To identify
phenol
Heat sample and cover TT with filter
paper drenched in saturated ether
Then hold it over
ammonia vapor
If blue it indicates
phenol presence

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PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
SPECIFIC IDENTIFICATION TESTS
• Formaldehyde test

Sample + h2so4+
chromotropic acide
Heat for 10 min
at 60-70 deg
Violet colour -
formaldehyde
Red colour –
cellulose acetate

PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
PHYSICAL IDENTIFICATION TESTS
Visual Appearance

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PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
PHYSICAL IDENTIFICATION TESTS

Hardness

Some plastic materials can be carved with a finger nail:

polyethylene, less easily also polypropylene
so PVC
polyurethanes
natural rubber and gutta-percha (unless strongly hardened by
aging or vulcanization)

PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
PHYSICAL IDENTIFICATION TESTS
Odor

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PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
CHEMICAL IDENTIFICATION TESTS
• Protein Derivatives
• Natural Resins
• Flame test

PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
ADVANCED ANALYTICAL METHODS

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PLASTICS IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
ADVANCED ANALYTICAL METHODS

SORTING & SEGREGATION

METHODS

• Sorting of waste plastics is a fundamental part of

polymer recycling because of the many different
types of plastics in use and the fact that most of
these are not compatible with each other.

• Sorting and separation techniques are usually

based on chemical, optical, electrical or physical
property differences between the various plastics
to be sorted.

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SORTING & SEGREGATION

METHODS

Manual Sorting

• Manual sorting of plastic bottles involves identifying various

characteristics of the containers by persons with a 'trained eye', as
the containers travel along a moving conveyor.

• Manual sorting can be facilitated by using various lighting

conditions. Ultraviolet light (so called 'black' light) can be useful for
improving the discrimination between PVC and PET bottles. While a
low-cost, semi-automated sorting system known as the Kisspotlight
system (Frankel Industries; Edison, NJ) uses special dispersed lighting
to assist in the removal of PVC from PET as well as distinguishing PETG
and PS from PET and PVC. This system relies on operators wearing
special polarized goggles, to remove the contaminant polymers
from a moving conveyor. Under this lighting, PET appears very bright,
almost incandescent, while PVC exhibits a dark blue appearance .

SORTING & SEGREGATION

METHODS

Density-Based Sorting Methods

Plastic sorting methods predicated on density include float-sink tanks

and hydrocyclones. Such techniques have been used widely for many
years now and were the only technologies available for sorting waste
plastic flake in the early years of recycling.

A major limitation of density-based methods is that many polymers

have virtually equivalent or fairly similar densities.

• Float-Sink Methods (Wet Separation)

• Dry Separation
• Centrifugal Sorting
• Sorting with Near-Critical and Super-Critical Fluids
• Float-Sink by Preferential Solvent Absorption
• Float-Sink by Hydrophobicity
• Froth flotation

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SORTING & SEGREGATION

METHODS

Optical Sorting

Automated optical sorters can be used to separate recycled polymer

flake (and contaminants) on the basis of colour or transparency. For
instance, colour sorters can separate coloured PET from clear PET,
coloured HDPE flake (from detergent bottles) from natural HDPE (from
milk bottles), coloured HDPE flake into specific colour types, coloured
PP caps from natural HDPE milk bottle flake etc.

SORTING & SEGREGATION

METHODS

Advanced Spectroscopic-Based Sorting Methods

• Mid-Infra-Red (MIR) Spectroscopy

• Near-Infra-Red (NIR) Spectroscopy
• Laser Acoustic Sensing
• Raman Spectroscopy
• Sorting by Laser-Induced Emission Spectral Analysis
• Sorting by Plasma Emission Spectroscopy
• Miscellaneous Spectroscopic Techniques
• Polarized Light (PET/PVC)
• Phase Contrast Illumination (membrane like light source)
• UV Light
• Fluorescent Tagging

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SORTING & SEGREGATION

METHODS

X-ray Fluorescence for Sorting PVC

• XRF-Based PVC Bottle Sorting Systems

• XRF-Based PVC Flake Sorting Systems

SORTING & SEGREGATION

METHODS

Electrostatic Sorting Techniques

Electrostatic sorting techniques are generally based on the fact that

whenever two dissimilar materials are brought into contact there is an
exchange of charge across the interface, with one becoming negative
and the other positive. If one or both of these materials is an insulator,
this acquired charge will be carried away when they separate. Usually
there will be some relative movement between the two surfaces and
this mechanism is consequently known as tribocharging. For many
materials, it is only necessary to touch the surfaces together, then
separate them in order to transfer a measurable charge. Most
frictionally charged surfaces have both positively and negatively
charged areas, but one polarity predominates, determining the net
surface charge.

• Triboelectric Pen
• Triboelectric Drum Separator
• Corona Charging Belt Separator

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SORTING & SEGREGATION

METHODS

Further Sorting Techniques

• Sorting by Melting (Softening) Temperature

• Sorting by Selective Dissolution
• Sorting by Size Reduction-classification
• Sorting of Metal Contaminants by Eddy Current Separators

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