Recycling of a post-industrial printed multilayer plastic film containing polyurethane inks by solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-2023
Department
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Abstract
The recently reported Solvent-Targeted Recovery And Precipitation (STRAP) strategy is used to deconstruct multilayer plastic packaging films into their constituent resins by selective polymer dissolution. To broaden the applicability of STRAP, we demonstrate the process with a flexible post-industrial printed multilayer plastic film used for food packaging. The material was a reverse printed film composed of polyethylene (PE), ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyurethane (PU)-based inks. Removal of all colors was observed with biomass-derived gamma-valerolactone (GVL) and the recovered polymers possessed comparable properties to the corresponding virgin resins. A technoeconomic analysis indicates that this STRAP process could be economically feasible at a processing capacity of 6,000 tons per year. Moreover, the production of plastic films with materials recovered by this STRAP process can have a lower climate change impact than the production of films from virgin polymers.
Publication Title
Resources, Conservation and Recycling
Recommended Citation
Sánchez-Rivera, K.,
Munguía-López, A.,
Zhou, P.,
Cecon, V.,
Yu, J.,
Nelson, K.,
Miller, D.,
Grey, S.,
Xu, Z.,
Bar Ziv, E.,
Vorst, K.,
Curtzwiler, G.,
Van Lehn, R.,
Zavala, V.,
&
Huber, G.
(2023).
Recycling of a post-industrial printed multilayer plastic film containing polyurethane inks by solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation.
Resources, Conservation and Recycling,
197.
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107086
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/17273