Scientists have found a way to recycle polyvinyl chloride (PVC). This was reported by the University of Michigan press service.
PVC forms a large part of the plastic used in the modern world. Medical products are made from it: probes and tubes, blood bags, as well as plumbing pipes, window frames and clothing items. A serious disadvantage of this material is that it is not suitable for reuse as a result of its non-recyclability, for example polyethylene. Plastic is usually recycled by melting it and turning it into lower quality materials in the process. But when PVC is heated, plasticizers, one of its main components, leach out of the material very easily, contaminating the work area and even forming hydrochloric acid.
Now University of Michigan researchers led by Daniel Fagnani have discovered a way to chemically turn PVC into a usable material. They succeeded in using phthalates as a chemical reaction medium in plasticizers, one of the most harmful components of PVC. PVC is a polymer with a hydrocarbon backbone composed of single carbon-carbon bonds. Each carbon group has a chlorine group attached to it. Therefore, hydrochloric acid is released when heated.
Scientists proposed to process PVC by the electrochemical method. To do this, you need to add an electron to the carbon-chlorine system, as a result of which chlorine ions – salts of hydrochloric acid – precipitate and are released. They are used in the production of agricultural chemicals and in the pharmaceutical industry. A small amount of hydrochloric acid is released as a by-product, but in a stable and controlled manner – and can therefore also be used in industry.
As a result, only the carbon residue of the decomposed polymers remains. Currently, scientists are looking for ways to recycle it.