Source: SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
REUSING POST-CONSUMED PLASTICS FOR SOLVENT EXTRACTION OF RESINS AND OTHER REPROCESSING
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
EVANS-ALLEN
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1012812
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jun 14, 2017
Project End Date
May 15, 2021
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
ORANGEBURG,SC 29117
Performing Department
Engineering Technologies
Non Technical Summary
This project centers on saving energy by recovering resin, and reutilizing post-consumed plastics (PCPs), and waste plastics. It has been estimated that the availability of PCPs increases yearly by over 2%, and it is slightly higher than the rate of resins production.The interchange rate of petrochemicals to plastics is five to one. The conversion rate of plastics to petrochemicals is close to two to one, and the recovery yield of plastics resins from used materials is close to 90%. Thus, recovering resins from PCPs for reuse is very energy efficient, environmental friendly, and economically advantageous compared to making new resins from petrochemicals. Thermal depolymerization or thermolysis/pyrolysis of PCPs into fuel and petrochemicals is not energy saving but saves the environment from run-away plastics. The incineration of PCPs does not contribute to energy savings or environmental protection since the process deposits many toxic gases into the environment. Disposing PCPs in landfills is inconvenient since decomposition of PCPs requires many centuries. The use of PCPs directly as fuel reduces their presence in the environment; however, it requires specialized exhausts to collect the toxic gases resulting from incineration.This research project focuses on two goals: (1) extracting resins from the PCPs network, and (2) reutilizing, and down-cycling the PCPs into new valuable products. Both processes are energy saving and environmentally friendly.To achieve the first goal, the researchers will search for an appropriate solvent or mixed solvents that can remove the resin from PCP network. The next step is to recover the solvent so it can be used in the next extraction. The subsequent step is purification of the resin. The last step in this process will be characterization of the obtained resin comparing its character with the original one as an indication of success. This process is very advantageous and energy saving, particularly for resins that upon heating they decompose to toxic gases such as polyvinylchloride (PVC) and neoprene.The second goal, reutilizing and down-cycling PCPs, includes various processes depending on the nature of the PCP. The expanded polystyrene (EPS) (i) will be heat-compressed into a lower volume suitable for transport to industries in order to be reused again for EPS. (ii) EPS will be shredded, then mixed with cements to make insulate, light-weight blocks for construction. The PCP of polyethylene (PE) resin, depending of the purity of the objects, will be recycled into (i) rods for 3-D printers; (ii) heat-compressed to pellets for re-fabrication of goods; or (iii) down-cycled to replace lumber and rails. The PCP resulted from polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) (i) will be cleaned and (ii) heat-compressed into pellets for recycling. The pellets will be useful for fabrication of new products or to be used in the textile industries. Every obtained resin will be characterized and its properties will be compared to the original resins.To save the latent energy of small pieces of PCPs resulting from unidentified resins, such as small toys, candy-raps, and others, they will be depolymerized into liquids and gases. The obtained products will be similar to crude petroleum.
Animal Health Component
25%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
75%
Applied
25%
Developmental
0%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
40374102000100%
Knowledge Area
403 - Waste Disposal, Recycling, and Reuse;

Subject Of Investigation
7410 - General technology;

Field Of Science
2000 - Chemistry;
Goals / Objectives
This project has two major goals using a combination of pure and applied science and engineering processes. To achieve these goals pure, and applied science and engineering are combined.The first goal is to find an effective and economic method to extract resins from a network of PCP without damaging its original structure.The second goal is to treat the PCPs to be suitable to make the original product or recast them as new products.
Project Methods
I. Solvent Extractions. Solvent extraction is of methods that separated the original resin from its network without significant deterioration. The obstacle includes finding the appropriate solvent and precipitant, and recovery of the solvent and precipitant. This laborious and expensive method is more cost effective comparing with the synthesis the resin from original petrochemicals. The extracted resin is pure and retains the properties of the original polymer. This method has several steps as follows:1. Discovery of the solvent. The ideal solvent would dissolve the resin without damaging its original chemical structure, but not the impurities such as fillers and plasticizers. When an appropriate solvent is not available, a mixture of liquids will be considered. The researchers will tests the solvents or mixture of solvents with a solubility parameter value (δ) near to the solubility parameter of the resin (δ±2). The test will consist of immersing a small pieces of a PCP (for example about 10 mg of PVC) in 10 mL of a given solvent in a capped vial, and shake it for 24 hrs at a given temperature. Since the solubility of resins depend on temperature, several available temperatures also will be tested. After having the post-consumed plastic for a day in the solvent at a constant temperature, the solution will be tested for the amount of dissolved resin. The best solvent will be used for resin recovery. A successful process for resin recovery is among intellectual properties.2. Separation of resin from solution. The Solution obtained in the previous step contains solvent, resin, plasticizers, and other impurities. The next step is to separate the resin from the mixture. The most common methods for separation of resins from its solution is the precipitation combined with centrifuging, and reduced pressure vaporization. To precipitate resin from its solution the quality of solvent must be change. This can occur by changing temperature, or adding a precipitant to the solution. Finally, by centrifuging at a high speed (~100 KRPM) the precipitated resin will be recovered. For reduced pressure vaporization method the resin's solution submerge to low pressures at lower temperature, the vaporized solvent condensed and removed for reaction vessel, while the resin and high boiling point substance remains together. The solid obtained needed more purification by dissolution and re-precipitation.3. Resin characterizations. To test the quality of the obtained resin, it must be characterized. The common characterization methods are, GPC and viscometry, but a more suitable method is the light-scattering method, or a combination of all of them. The resin will be characterized by GPC-Max-TDA which combines GPC, viscometry, and light scattering methods in one single measurement. The characteristics of obtained resin will be compared with the original one to determine the suitability of the method. The percent yield of resin will be used to justify the efficiency of the method.4. Expand the process. The experience and expertise obtained will be used for recycling larger amounts of materials.5. Collaboration. The interested investors and collaborators will be invited to discuss the possibility of commercialization of the method.6. The above process will be used to extract PVC, chloroprene, PS, PTE, and PE.II. Resins' Recovery for Reprocessing. The main idea is to reduce the volume of a PCP devices suitable to transport to a recycling facility. PTE, and PE resins are the best candidates for this purpose. Also, solid state shear pulverization of PCP competes with melt recovery, but it is an expensive and effective process. Various kinds of PCP particularly the ones generated in the SCSU campus will be studied.Melt Recovery. The focus will be on PTE, and PE containers. Students under supervisor of PI will collect these PCP containers, clean, chip, and melt them to generate low volume valuable resins ready to reprocess. To assure their quality, the melted products will be characterized.At this stage, the possibility of collaboration with a down-cycle and recycling industries will be on the table. The PI anticipates this process may lead to a lucrative and self-sustained process of recycling on the campus Expanded Polystyrene, Styrofoam (EPS)1. Reducing the volume. A mechanical engineering and a chemistry major student and the PI will work to design and implement this process. The shredded EPS foam obtained from packaging, caps and plates will be exposed to heat (240°C) and pressure to melt. Subsequently, the melted EPS foam passes through a small outlet at the end of the extruder and solidifies. The reduced volume EPS can then be easily transported to factories for remolding into its new EPS products. A visual video of this process is available.2. Insulating Concrete from EPS. The products of this study will be insulation concrete blocks that can be used as an insulating amendment in concrete foundations and walls similar to Rastra's. The advantages of these blocks over the others is that these will be made from post-consumed EPA. A civil engineering and a chemistry major student under PI supervision will make insulating concrete as following:i. EPS plates and cups will be collected from the cafeteria, will be washed and dried.ii. The collected cups and plates will be cut into tin long threads or pulverized into small balls.iii. The EPS threads will be mixed with cement in various proportion, including 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90%. Then, the mixture will be cast into a 4" X 4" X 4" cube.iv. The strength of each cube will be measured and will be compared with concrete, using the impact machinery in the Engineering Lab.v. The best proportion will be used to make light weight insulated concrete blocks similar to Rastra's block.3. Casting Plates from PE. Chemistry and mechanical engineering students with the supervision and help of the PI, will work on this project. The post consumed PE plastics will be melted and re-casted into some usual commodities, for example a hollow 1" X 1" bar, a flat pan and similar simple things. The strength of the products will be measured in the civil and mechanical engineering lab.4. Filaments for 3-D printers. In this process, a student will collect the post-consumed PE containers including milk jars. The clean and dry jar will be hand shredded suitable to be used in a filament maker. A simple filament-maker is available for purchase on-line with a price below $500. With the funds provided from this project a filament maker will be purchased.III. Depolymerization and Thermolysis of waste Plastics. The gasification, thermolysis and thermal depolymerization technique will be used to convert assorted resins generated on the SCSU campus into petroleum and fuel. The products will be characterization by GC-MS and LC-MS. As a result landfills will received significantly fewer PCP, and the number of run-away PCP will be diminished. This research opens the way for reprocessing, recycling and thermalizing PCPs are beneficial to the human society and will improve wildlife. Thus, double impact and benefits are expected.The general design for this process will be a reactor that decomposes and vaporizes the waste plastics at higher temperatures to lower molar mass chemicals, then the vapor cools and condenses into various fractions similar to the cracking process in petrochemical industries. The obtained liquid will be characterized by GC-MS and LC-MS to evaluate the efficiency and suitability of the process. The PI and student researchers will meet and discuss the cracking plan prior to and after each experiment (formative evaluation). The results will be compared with the previous experiments and the published information. Various types of waste plastics and several mixtures will be thermalized and analyzed to identify the best practice.

Progress 06/14/17 to 05/15/21

Outputs
Target Audience:For the general public, the results were published as peer-reviewed papers, posters, and oral presentations in scientific conferences and organizations. Also, the results of the research were presented in the internal meetings at South Carolina State University where a large number of faculty, staff, and students were participating. We presented in various meetings of the American Chemical Society local regional and national meetings. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Undergraduate students were involved in all stages of the progress of the project. They learn the methods to collect and prepared PCPs for research work. They participated in setting up solubility measurements at various temperatures, extract resins from PCPs, familiarized themselves with the preparation methods, and with various characterization instruments including TGA, DSC, and SEC. Also, they learned to fabricate rods and filaments, cement blocks with the various potion of aggregates, and the use of mechanical testing instrumentations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?With the help and supervision of PI, many posters and oral presentations at various scientific meetings and organizations were given by the student involved in the research activities. Several manuscripts were prepared and some of them were accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and some others are in the review process. Many abstracts of the poster and oral presentations were published in the Abstracts of the conferences and scientific gatherings. Several drafts of the research were prepared, which will be submitted to be published. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Six types of post-consumer plastics (PCPs),poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET, 1), high-density polyethylene (HDPE, 2), polyvinylchloride (PVC, 3), low-density polyethylene (LDPE, 4), polypropylene (PP, 5) and polystyrene (PS, 6)were collected, hand-washed, and hand-cut to small sizes then air-dried for further uses. Recovering the resins from PCPs by extraction method. To extract a resin from a PCP, it must be soluble in a given solvent. The solubility of all six PCPs including PC-PET, PC-PVC, PC-LDPE, PC-HDPE, PC-PP, and PC-PS was tested in the solvents that were available in our laboratory at various temperature, between room temperature and reflux temperatures. The solvents used were acetone, benzene, chloroform, dichloromethane, diethyl benzene, dimethyl sulfate, ethyl methyl ketone (MEK), ethyl acetate, ethyl benzoate, heptane, ligroin, methanol, methylene chloride, nitromethane, pyridine, propanol, phenyl ethanol, tetrahydrofuran (THF), 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (DCE), chlorobenzene, and xylene. Also, the solubility of the PCPs in the mixture of the above solvents was tested. PC-PET did not dissolve in any solvent or mixed solvent at room conditions, however, it was soluble in DCE, chlorobenzene, and xylene, at the higher temperatures, reflux temperature. Samples of PC-PET were dissolved in DCE to extract the PET resin. The resin was recovered by precipitation in methanol. And the solvent and precipitants were recovered by fractional distillations. Therefore, we were able to make a closed loop for the extraction of PET. The recovered resin was dissolved and precipitated again for maximum purity. The resins were dried under vacuum for a week and characterized by thermogravimetry (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). From obtained results, two manuscripts were prepared and submitted for publication. At this moment we are looking for the reviewer evaluations. The students who were involved in the research presented this work in several scientific meetings as poster presentations and oral presentations. PC-PVC and PC-CPVC used in this study were tubes obtained from the University facility waste collection. The tubes were hand-washed, hand-cut to small sizes, and stored in the lab. PC-PVC and PC-CPVC were soluble in several solvents, and a mixture of them including THF-acetone, and THF-MEK. About 500 mg of a sample of a used PVC tube was dissolved in each of the solvents; the insoluble substances were separated by filtration. PVC and CPVC resins were recovered by precipitation in methanol; solvents were recovered by fractional distillations, other ingredients such as low molecular weight polymers and plasticizers remained in the flask as residue. The recovered resins were dissolved and precipitated again for maximum purity. The resins were dried under vacuum for a week and characterized by TGA, DSC, under a nitrogen atmosphere and the triple detector eluted with THF at 30 °C. The results were analyzed and published in a peer-reviewed journal. The data obtained from the investigation of the samples by TGA and DSC will be analyzed and published in a peer-reviewed journal at a later time. The students who were involved in the research presented this work in several scientific meetings as poster presentations and oral presentations. PC-HDPE and PC-LDPE both were soluble only in DCE, chlorobenzene, and xylene at high temperatures. The resins were purified by precipitation and dried under a vacuum. No further work has been done on the extracted resin. PC-HDPE and PC-LDPE were upcycled by extrusion to make rods for secondary uses as shown in The mechanical properties of these extruded rods were measured. We are planning to analyze these data in a near future. The thermal properties of PC-HDPE and PC-LDPE and the rods were measured by TGA and DSC, the data were analyzed, a draft of a manuscript was prepared which is in its revision. The students who were involved in the research presented the results in several scientific meetings as poster presentations and oral presentations. The motivated students construct a plastic extruder from common parts available in retail stores and made filament from PC-HDPE. The thermal characteristics of the original PC-HDPE and the obtained filaments were measured and compared. The students who were involved in the research presented this work in several scientific meetings as poster presentations and oral presentations. A draft of a manuscript was prepared. Later on, we order a plastic extruder which made easer the work. PC-PS was soluble in several of the above solvents, and a mixture of THF-acetone, and THF-MEK. The resin was recovered by precipitation in methanol. And the solvents were recovered by fractional distillations. The recovered resin was dissolved and precipitated again for maximum purity. The resins were dried under a vacuum for a week. The solubility of PC-PP was tested in all the above solvents and the mixture of the solvents. PC-PP was soluble in toluene at reflux temperature. The resin was recovered by precipitation in methanol. And the solvents were recovered by fractional distillations. The obtained resin was not soluble in toluene at the reflux temperature, perhaps due to changes in the conformation of the PP and the absence of additives and plasticizers. The thermal oxidation of PC-PP was studied under birthing air by TGA and its heat of combustion was measured by a bomb calorimeter. A manuscript of the results was prepared. The students involved in this research presented the work in several scientific meetings as poster presentations and oral presentations. The PCP expanded polystyrene (ExPS) is a byproduct of shipping and most of the recycling companies do not take it. ExPS was used to fabricate insulated building blocks. A wooden mold for block construction was fabricated and cement was cast into it. The lightweight insulated cement blocks were produced by gradually replacing gravels with ExPS. Ten (10) samples with variable percentage of ExPS were prepared and their mechanical properties were measured. The students presented this work in several scientific meetings as poster presentations and oral presentations. A draft of a manuscript of the work has been prepared.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: 1. Nasrollah Hamidi and Tianyu Zhu (2021): Characterization of Amphiphilic Cobaltocenium Copolymers via Size Exclusion Chromatography with Online Laser-Light Scattering and Viscometric Detectors, Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part B. Physics. 60 (1) 30-50 https://doi.org/10.1080/00222348.2020.1819600
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: 2. Nasrollah Hamidi (2020) Characterization of Recovered Polyvinylchloride by Size Exclusion Chromatography and Triple Detectors Technique. Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part B Physics 59(3), 137156. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222348.2019.1696402
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: 3. Nasrollah Hamidi (2019): Kinetics study of the thermal decomposition of post-consumer poly(ethylene terephthalate) in an argon atmosphere, Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part B Physics 58(2) 219-247, DOI: 10.1080/00222348.2019.1576102
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 4. Nasrollah Hamidi, Shantavia Edmonds, Victoria Frazier & Felecia Clemons (2018): Temperature Dependence Characteristics of Biodegradable Polycaprolactone Grafted Propargyl Dehydroabietic Ester (PCL-g-DAPE), Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part B Physics, 57(2) 129-150. DOI: 10.1080/00222348.2018.1429750
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2021 Citation: 5. Nasrollah Hamidi and Nurannahar Abdussalam, Kinetics study of the thermal decomposition of post-consumer water bottle made of poly(ethylene terephthalate) in a nitrogen atmosphere (submitted 2021)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2021 Citation: 6. Nasrollah Hamidi, Nurannahar Abdussalam, and Mehrdad Yazdani-Pedram Kinetics study of the thermal decomposition of recovered poly(ethylene terephthalate) from post-consumer water bottles in a nitrogen atmosphere (submitted 2021)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2021 Citation: 7. Nasrollah Hamidi, Allisonne Sarvis and Nurannahar Abdussalam Kinetics study of the combustion of post-consumer food container made of poly(propylene) (it is in the final stage of revision.)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2021 Citation: 8. Nasrollah Hamidi, and Shequanda Mack (2021) Kinetics study of the thermal decomposition of post-consumer chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride), CPVC in a nitrogen atmosphere
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2021 Citation: 9. Nasrollah Hamidi and Josiah Henderson, Comparison of the thermal stability of the rode obtained from post-consumer high-density polyethylene with the original PC-HDPE by thermogravimetric analysis in a nitrogen atmosphere
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2021 Citation: 10. Nasrollah Hamid and Brandon Galloway Mechanical strength and thermal conductivities of lightweight concrete made of postconsumer expanded polystyrene
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: 1. Allisanne Sarvis, Nasrollah Hamidi. POLY 531: Solvent extraction of post-consumer polypropylene. American Chemical Society National Meeting and Expositions, Philadelphia, PA. March 22 - 26, 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: 3. Mack, Shaquanda T, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Recovering poly (vinyl chloride) from post-consumer plastic via solvent extraction. Professional Agricultural Workers Conference (PAWC), Tuskegee, Alabama, USA, Dec 2019
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: 4. Reese, S. and Hamidi, N. Solvent extraction of resin from post-consumer low density polyethylene (PC-LDPE). July 26, 2019 BRTCUM Summer Internship Program, South Carolina State University.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: 5. Sarvis, A. and Hamidi, N. Solvent extraction of resin from post-consumer polypropylene (PC-PP). July 26, 2019. BRTCUM Summer Internship Program, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: 6. N. Hamidi, S. Mack, A. Panthi, A. Sarvis, Comparison of the Thermal Properties of Polyvinylchloride and Recovered PVC by Solvent Extraction. March 29-April 3, 2019 ARD Symposium, Jacksonville, Fl
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 7. ShaQuanda Mack, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Recovering Poly(vinyl chloride) from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent extraction. Louis Stokes South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation (LS-SCAMP) Program in celebration of Research Scholars at the 2018 Undergraduate Research Symposium and Showcase on Friday, November 9, 2018 SCSU Orangeburg, SC. (place 1st category).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 8. Nurannahar Abdussalam, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Reclaiming of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent Extraction. Louis Stokes South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation (LS-SCAMP) Program in celebration of Research Scholars at the 2018 Undergraduate Research Symposium and Showcase on Friday, November 9, 2018 SCSU Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: 2. Allisanne Sarvis, Nasrollah Hamidi. Extraction of polypropylene resin from post-consumer polypropylene. Professional Agricultural Workers Conference (PAWC), Tuskegee, Alabama, USA, Dec 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 9. ShaiAnthony Huff, and Nasrollah Hamidi Recovering high density poly(ethylene), HDPE from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent extraction. Louis Stokes South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation (LS-SCAMP) Program in celebration of Research Scholars at the 2018 Undergraduate Research Symposium and Showcase on Friday, November 9, 2018 SCSU Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 10. Josiah Henderson, and Nasrollah Hamidi, Design and Construction of an Extruder for Upgrading Post Consumer Plastics to Filament Suitable for 3-D Printing, Hot Glue, and other Uses. Louis Stokes South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation (LS-SCAMP) Program in celebration of Research Scholars at the 2018 Undergraduate Research Symposium and Showcase on Friday, November 9, 2018 SCSU Orangeburg, SC. (place 2nd in category)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 11. Brandon Galloways. Fabrication of Insulated Construction Block using Expanded Polystyrene and the study of its Chemical and Mechanical Properties. 5th Annual HBCU Climate Change Conference. September 19-23, 2018 Xavier University New Orleans, LA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 12. ShaQuanda Mack, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Recovering Poly(vinyl chloride) from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent extraction. 2018 National Meeting of National Organization for the Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), September 17-20, 2018, Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel, Orlando, Florida.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 13. Josiah Henderson, and Nasrollah Hamidi Design and Construction of an Extruder for Upgrading Post Consumer Plastics to Filament Suitable for 3-D Printing, Hot Glue, and other Uses. 2018 National Meeting of National Organization for the Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), September 17-20, 2018, Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel, Orlando, Florida.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 14. Nurannahar Abdussalam, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Reclaiming of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent Extraction. 2018 National Meeting of National Organization for the Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), September 17-20, 2018, Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel, Orlando, Florida.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 15.Josiah Henderson, Design and Construction of an Extruder for Upgrading Post Consumer Plastics to Filament Suitable for 3-D Printing, Hot Glue, and other Uses. 2018 BRTCUM Program, SCSU, Davis Hall, June 21, July 12, and July26, 2018, Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 22. Josiah Henderson, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Design and fabrication of a filament extruder to fabricate 3-D printers filament from post-consumer plastics Stem Showcase Day, SC State University CSMET, April 6, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: 23. Brandon J. Galloway, and Nasrollah Hamidi Thermal Analysis and Solubility of Post Consumable Plastics professional agricultural workers conference (PAWC), Tuskegee, Alabama, USA, Nov 2017.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: 24. Nurannahaar Abdussalam, Nasrollah Hamidi, POLY 530: Reclaiming of polyethylene terephthalate from post-consumer plastics via solvent extraction. American Chemical Society National Meeting and Expositions, Philadelphia, PA. March 22 - 26, 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: 25. Nurannahaar Abdussalam, Nasrollah Hamidi, Reclaiming of poly(ethyleneterephthalate) from post-consumer plastics via solvent extraction. Professional Agricultural Workers Conference (PAWC), Tuskegee, Alabama, USA, Dec 2019
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 16. ShaQuanda Mack, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Recovering Poly(vinyl chloride) from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent extraction. 2018 BRTCUM Program, SCSU, Davis Hall, June 21, July 12, and July26, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 17. ShaiAnthony Huff, Recovering high density poly(ethylene), HDPE from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent extraction. 2018 BRTCUM Program, SCSU, Davis Hall, June 21, July 12, and July26, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 18. Brandon J. Galloway, and Nasrollah Hamidi Thermal Analysis and Solubility of Post Consumable Plastics SCSU, College of Graduate and Professional Studies Research Symposium on April 6, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 19. Saku Warshamana-Greene, Asmita Panthi, Nakea Pennant, Mahtabuddin Ahmed & Nasrollah Hamidi. Investigation of Bioactive Biomolecules: Preliminary Studies of Plant Extracts for Isolation of Bioactive Compounds. SCSU STEM Showcase Day, April 4, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 20. Brandon J. Galloway, and Nasrollah Hamidi Using post-consumed expanded polystyrene t make insulate, light-weight blocks for construction. SCSU STEM Showcase Day, April 4, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 21. Nurannahar Abdussalam, Kelly Morgan, Brandon Galloways, Nasrollah Hamidi. Extraction of poly(ethylene terephthalate) resins from post consumed plastics Stem Showcase Day, SC State University CSMET, April 6, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: 26. Nasrollah Hamidi, Tianyu Zhu, Anisur MD Rahman, and Chuanbing Tang, Molecular Characterization of Amphiphilic Copolymers by Size Exclusion Chromatography Equipped with On-Line Triple Detectors. April 12, 2019, Annual SC EPSCoR State Conference, Greenville, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: 27. N. Hamidi and B. J. Galloway, Fabrication and Characterizations of Construction Block Replacing Gravels with Post-Consumer Expanded Polystyrene. March 29-April 3, 2019 ARD symposium, Jacksonville, Fl
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: 28. N. Hamidi, and N. Abdussalam, Reclaiming of Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent Extraction. ARD Symposium, Mar 29-Apr 3, 2019, Jacksonville, Fl.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: 29. Nasrollah Hamidi, Kinetics study of thermal decomposition of post-consumer Costco carbonated water bottle made of poly(ethylene terephthalate) in argon. 70th Southeastern Regional Meeting of American Chemical Society, Augusta, GA, October 31 - November 3, 2018.


Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:For general public, the results were published as pear reviewed paper, poster and oral presentations in the scientific conferences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three (3) undergraduate students during the Spring 2020, three (3) undergraduate students during the Summer 2020, and two (2) undergraduate students and one Lab tech during the Fall semester,2020 were participated, trained and did research. Since we were working remotely, the students work was concentrated on reading the published work regarding the uses of PC. In addition, the student prepared quaternary student report, and presented part of their research in various scientific organization. Two students made scores on competencies. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results were disseminated by publishing in the peer-reviewed journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the coming semester, the work will be concentrated on writing a final bulletin and publish as much as possible the results of the study.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? SCSU researchers have designed and launched a comprehensive program encompassing reusing, recycling and solvent extraction of the resins, the main building block of the post-consumer plastics. These are vital results for removing the postconsumer plastics from environment into the recycling and reusing system. As a result of these activities, we will have a healthier, cleaner, and safer environment. In addition, we save energy. These results strengthened the capabilities of SCSU to address the increasing problem of postconsumer plastics accumulation in open and deep landfills and warehouses. Also, these studies help to established working collaborations between the academic and students who are next generation of work force in the nation and 1890-Research and Extension, engineering and sciences. The project created a solution to solve the problem of postconsumer plastics by reusing and extraction of the resins. This improves the effectiveness of SCSU in addressing the needs of local, State, Nation and world. The project consists of reducing the amounts of post consumed plastics in four major ways as following: 1. Find appropriated solvent to extract valuable resins deposited in post-consumer plastic (PC) products. For this numerous solvents and mixtures of the solvents were tested for each type of PC. 2a. Reuse postconsumer plastics to produce other useful materials. In this area, we worked to use expanded PC polystyrene to replace by gravels to produce light weight cement blocks. These blocks are useful as construction materials. 2b. PC polyethylene was converted to rods useful for 3-d printing, netting and hot-glue 3. Depolymerize post-consumed plastics to low molar mass material useful as fuel. 5 types of the post consumed plastics were collected, washed and cut to small sizes, then air dried for further uses. The project focused on four different areas. The work accomplished in those four major areas are: 1. Extracting the resins from post consumed plastic products. The solubility of PC polyethylene terephthalate (PC-PET), polyvinylchloride (PC-PVC), low-density polyethylene (PC-LDPE), high-density polyethylene (PC-HDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PC-PS) were tested in the solvents that were available in our laboratory at room temperature, and higher temperatures including acetone, benzene, chloroform, dichloromethane, diethyl benzene, dimethyl sulfate, ethyl methyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl benzoate, heptane, ligroin, methanol, methylene chloride, nitromethane, pyridine, propanol, phenyl ethanol, tetrahydrofuran (THF), 1,1,2,2-tetrachlorethan, chlorobenzene, and xylene. PC-PET did not dissolve in any solvent at room conditions, however, it was soluble in 1,1,2,2-tetrachlorethan, chlorobenzene, and xylene, at higher temperature above 80 °C. Serval samples of PC-PET were dissolved in the above solvents to extract the PET resin. The resin was recovered by precipitation in methanol. And the solvent and precipitants were recovered by fractional distillations. The recovered resin was dissolved and precipitated again for maximum purity. The extracted PET resin was washed and dried under vacuum for a week and characterized by thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry. The TGA data were analyzed and sent to the Journal of Fuel and Energy for publication. The manuscrit of the TGA results of PC-PET also was submitted to a peer-revied Journal for publication. PC-PVC was soluble in various of the above solvents, and a mixture of THF-acetone, and THF-MEK. The recovered resin was dissolved and precipitated again for maximum purity. The resins were dried under vacuum for a week and cauterized by triple detector eluted with THF at 30 °C. The results were analyzed and published in a peer-reviewed journal. Also, this sample was characterized by thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry. The data obtained will be analyzed and published in a peer-reviewed journal. PC-HDPE and LDPE both were soluble only in 1,1,2,2-tetrachlorethan, chlorobenzene, and xylene at high temperatures. No further work has been done on the extracted resin. However, both of them were extruded to make rods for secondary uses. The mechanical properties of these extruded rod were measured. We are planning to analyze these data as soon as we can. PC-PS was soluble in various of the above solvents, and a mixture of THF-acetone, and THF-MEK. The resin was recovered by precipitation in methanol. And the solvents were recovered by fractional distillations. The recovered resin was dissolved and precipitated again for maximum purity. The resins were dried under vacuum for a week. The recovered resin will be characterized by triple detector eluted with THF, thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry. 2. Using post consumed plastics to produce other useful materials. A setup to melt and recast post consumed plastics to rod and filaments was designed. We produced rodes of LDPE and HDPE, wirh various thickness. Their mechnical properties were measured. 3. Using post consumer plastic in construction materials The samples of PC-EPS was obtained fromLowes Home improvement, Orangeburg, SC. The EPS were crushed to small spherical constiuents. To obtained a lightweigth cement block for constructions, the gravels on the cement blocks were replaced by the EPS small spheres. Ten (10) samples with variable contents of EPS and cements were fabricated, cured and tested. A manuscrit of the mechanical properties of the samples is under preparation. 4. Depolymerize post-consumed plastics to low molar mass material useful as fuel, no significant progress has been done in this area since using electricity is not the most economical procedure to decompose the postconsumer materials. We are looking to find an economic way of converting these postconsumers to fuel.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Nasrollah Hamidi and Tianyu Zhu (2021): Characterization of Amphiphilic Cobaltocenium Copolymers via Size Exclusion Chromatography with Online Laser-Light Scattering and Viscometric Detectors, Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part B. Physics. 60 (1) 30-50 https://doi.org/10.1080/00222348.2020.1819600
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Nasrollah Hamidi (2020) Characterization of Recovered Polyvinylchloride by Size Exclusion Chromatography and Triple Detectors Technique. Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part B Physics 59(3), 137156. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222348.2019.1696402.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Nasrollah Hamidi1 and Nurannahar Abdussalam (2021) Kinetics study of the thermal decomposition of post-consumer water bottle made of poly(ethylene terephthalate) in a nitrogen atmosphere submitted to the Journal of Physcal Chemistry Part B.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Nasrollah Hamidi and Nurannahar Abdussalam (2021) Kinetics study of the thermal decomposition of recovered poly(ethylene terephthalate) from post-consumer water bottles in a nitrogen atmosphere submitted to the Journal of Energy and Fuel.


Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience: For general public, the results were published as pear reviewed paper, poster and oral presentations in the scientific conferences. Internal meetings at South Carolina State University National Organization of Black Chemist and Chemical Engineers American Chemical Society local, Regional and National meetings. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Six (6) undergraduate students participated, trained and did research, made oral and poster presentation of their work. Also, the student prepared quaternary student report, and presented part of their research in various scientific organization. Two students made scores on competencies. Three student made presentations at ARD conference in Jacksonville, Fl. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Many poster and oral presentations at various scientific meeting and organizations. Several papers in peer-reviewed journals was published. Some more manuscripts are in preparation. Many poster and oral abstracts were published. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the coming year, the work will be concentrated on collecting the seven types of common post consumed plastics and study their properties as following. Continuing the research for finding a better solvent to extract the polymeric resins from post-consumer plastic. This solvent must be able to dissolve the postconsumer plastic near to room temperature. Reusing postconsumer plastics to produce other useful materials. For this, the thermal stability of the postconsumer plastics will be measured and their thermal stability and kinetic parameters will be studied. Also, their thermal transition and melting heat will be measured by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) with variable heating rates. Once these properties were known condition for recasting to other utilities will be studied. A setup to melt and recast postconsumer plastics was designed and it will be built during the coming year. Using post consumed plastic in construction materials Research on the using PC-EPS as replacement for gravel in cement block will continue. The data on the mechanical properties of the samples were built and studied will be processed in form of a manuscript and the addition work needed for the manuscript will be done. A lightweight, insulated cement block, as an example, will be made. Depolymerize post-consumed plastics to low molar mass material useful as fuel. De-polymerization of mixed resins materials will be studied. Moreover, the results will be presented as: Pear reviewed paper, poster and oral presentations in the scientific conferences.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The project consists of reducing the amounts of post consumed plastics in four major ways including: Find appropriated solvent to extract valuable resins deposited in post-consumer plastic (PC) products. For this numerous solvents and mixtures of the solvents were tested for each type of PC. A few good results were obtained. Find suitable solvent for PVC extraction. The search for a solvent or mixed-solvent that dissolve other resins at room temperature is continued. Reuse postconsumer plastics to produce other useful materials. In this area we worked to use expanded PC polystyrene to replace gravels to produce light weight cement blocks useful as construction materials. And PC-PE was converted to rods. Using post consumed plastic in construction materials. PC polyethylene was converted to rods useful for 3-d printing and hot-glue Depolymerize post-consumed plastics to low molar mass material useful as fuel. Fivetypes of the post consumed plastics were collected, washed and cut to small sizes, then air dried for further uses. The project focused in four different areas. The work accomplished in those four major areas are: 1. Extracting the resins from post consumed plastic products. The solubility of post-consumer plastics (PC) including polyethylene terephthalate (PC-PET), polyvinylchloride (PC-PVC), low-density polyethylene (PC-LDPE), high-density polyethylene (PC-HDPE),polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PC-PS) were tested in the solvents that were available in our laboratory at room temperature, and higher temperatures including acetone, benzene, chloroform, dichloromethane, diethyl benzene, dimethyl sulfate, ethyl methyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl benzoate, heptane, ligroin, methanol, methylene chloride, nitromethane, pyridine, propanol, phenyl ethanol, tetrahydrofuran (THF), 1,1,2,2-tetrachlorethan, chlorobenzene, and xylene. PC-PET did not dissolve in any solvent at room conditions, however, it was soluble in 1,1,2,2-tetrachlorethan, chlorobenzene, and xylene, at higher temperature above 80 °C. Serval samples of PC-PET were dissolved in the above solvents to extract the PET resin. The resin was recovered by precipitation in methanol. And the solvent and precipitants were recovered by fractional distillations. The recovered resin was dissolved and precipitated again for maximum purity. The resins were dried under vacuum for a week and cauterized by thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry. The extracted PET resin was washed and dried. It was characterized by TGA and DSC. Now we are in the process of analizing the data obtained from these methods. PC-PVC was soluble in various of the above solvents, and a mixture of THF-acetone, and THF-MEK. About 500 mg of a sample of a used PVC tube was dissolved in THF; the PVC resin was recovered by precipitation in methanol; solvents was recovered by fractional distillations, fillers, and other ingredients were recoverd by filtration. The recovered resin was dissolved and precipitated again for maximum purity. The resins were dried under vacuum for a week and cauterized by triple detector eluted with THF at 30 °C. the results were analyzed and published in a peer-reviewed journal. Also, this sample will be characterized by thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry. The data obtained will be analyzed and published in a peer-reviewed journal. Also this sample will be characterized by TGA and DSC. PC-HDPE and LDPE both were soluble only in 1,1,2,2-tetrachlorethan, chlorobenzene, and xylene at high temperatures. No further work has been done on the extracted resin. However, both of them were extruded to make rods for secondary uses. The mechanical properties of these extruded rod were measured. We are planning to analyze these data as soon as we can. PC-PS was soluble in various of the above solvents, and a mixture of THF-acetone, and THF-MEK. The resin was recovered by precipitation in methanol. And the solvents were recovered by fractional distillations. The recovered resin was dissolved and precipitated again for maximum purity. The resins were dried under vacuum for a week. The recovered resin will be characterized by triple detector eluted with THF, thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry. 2. Using post consumed plastics to produce other useful materials. The thermal stability of the post consumed polyethylene terephthalate (PC-PET) were measured at 10 heating rates, were measured. Its thermal stability and kinetic parameters were determined. An article about thermal properties of PC-PET, in a peer-reviewed journal was accepted for publication. Also, its thermal transition and meting point, and heat of melting was measured by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) at five different heating rates. These properties will be published as a poster and paper A setup to melt and recast post consumed plastics to rod and filaments was designed, the materials need for its contraction was ordered in Nov 2019 and will be received soon in 2020. A plastic extruder was ordered and received. The power supplies was not included in the instrument, it was ordered, hopefully, will be received in the Feb 2020. Using post consumed plastic in construction materialsa mold was made to produce insulated cement block for construction. Ten (10) samples were the gravels was replaced with PC-EPS were prepared and tested for mechanical strength and thermal conductivity. 3. Depolymerize post-consumed plastics to low molar mass material useful as fuel. We are looking to find an economic way of converting these postconsumers to fuel.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Submitted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 1. Allisanne Sarvis, Nasrollah Hamidi. POLY 531: Solvent extraction of post-consumer polypropylene. American Chemical Society National Meeting and Expositions, Philadelphia, PA. March 22 - 26, 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 2. Allisanne Sarvis, Nasrollah Hamidi. Extraction of polypropylene resin from post-consumer polypropylene. Professional Agricultural Workers Conference (PAWC), Tuskegee, Alabama, USA, Dec 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 3. Mack, Shaquanda T, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Recovering poly (vinyl chloride) from post-consumer plastic via solvent extraction. Professional Agricultural Workers Conference (PAWC), Tuskegee, Alabama, USA, Dec 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 4. Reese, S. and Hamidi, N. Solvent extraction of resin from post-consumer low density polyethylene (PC-LDPE). July 26, 2019 BRTCUM Summer Internship Program, South Carolina State University.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 5. Sarvis, A. and Hamidi, N. Solvent extraction of resin from post-consumer polypropylene (PC-PP). July 26, 2019. BRTCUM Summer Internship Program, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 6. N. Hamidi, S. Mack, A. Panthi, A. Sarvis, Comparison of the Thermal Properties of Polyvinylchloride and Recovered PVC by Solvent Extraction. March 29-April 3, 2019 ARD Symposium, Jacksonville, Fl.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 7. Nurannahaar Abdussalam, Nasrollah Hamidi, POLY 530: Reclaiming of polyethylene terephthalate from post-consumer plastics via solvent extraction. American Chemical Society National Meeting and Expositions, Philadelphia, PA. March 22 - 26, 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 8. Nurannahaar Abdussalam, Nasrollah Hamidi, Reclaiming of poly(ethyleneterephthalate) from post-consumer plastics via solvent extraction. Professional Agricultural Workers Conference (PAWC), Tuskegee, Alabama, USA, Dec 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 9. Nasrollah Hamidi, Tianyu Zhu, Anisur MD Rahman, and Chuanbing Tang, Molecular Characterization of Amphiphilic Copolymers by Size Exclusion Chromatography Equipped with On-Line Triple Detectors. April 12, 2019, Annual SC EPSCoR State Conference, Greenville, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 10. N. Hamidi and B. J. Galloway, Fabrication and Characterizations of Construction Block Replacing Gravels with Post-Consumer Expanded Polystyrene. March 29-April 3, 2019 ARD symposium, Jacksonville, Fl.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 11. N. Hamidi, and N. Abdussalam, Reclaiming of Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent Extraction. ARD Symposium, Mar 29-Apr 3, 2019, Jacksonville, Fl.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: 1. Nasrollah Hamidi (2019) Characterization of Recovered Polyvinylchloride by Size Exclusion Chromatography and Triple Detectors Technique. Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part B Physics 58(2), 210247.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: 2. Nasrollah Hamidi (2019): Kinetics study of the thermal decomposition of post-consumer poly(ethylene terephthalate) in an argon atmosphere, Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part B Physics 58(2) 219-247, DOI: 10.1080/00222348.2019.15761021.


Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience: For general public, the results will be published as pear reviewed paper, poster and oral presentations in the scientific conferences. Internal meetings at South Carolina State University National Organization of Black Chemist and Chemical Engineers American Chemical Society local regional and national meetings. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Six (6) undergraduate students participated, trained and did research, made oral and poster presentation of their work. Also, the student prepared quaternary student report, and presented part of their research in various scientific organization. Two students made scores on competencies. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Many poster and oral presentations at various scientific meeting and organizations A manuscript was accepted for publication. Many poster and oral abstracts were published. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the coming year, the work will be concentrated on collecting the seven types of common post consumed plastics and study their properties as following. Continuing the extraction of resins from post-consumer plastic characterize and compare with the original products. Experiments will continue to find solvent for other types of PC-plastics; to extract their resins and charcterize. Using post consumed plastics to produce other useful materials. The thermal stability of the other post consumed plastics will be measured and their thermal stability and kinetic parameters will be studied. Also their thermal transition and melting heat will be measured by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) at five different heating rate. Once these properties were known condition for recasting to other utilities will be studied. A setup to melt and recast post consumed plastics is in design and it will be built and several post consumed plastics will be casted to various shapes. Using post consumed plastic in construction materials Research on the using PC-EPS as replacement for gravel in cement block will be continued. The data on the mechanical properties of the samples were built and studied will be processed in form of a manuscript and the additional work needed for the manuscript will be done. A lightweight, insulated cement block, as an example, will be made. Depolymerize post-consumed plastics to low molar mass material useful as fuel. De-polymerization of mixed resins materials will be studied. Moreover, the results will be presented as: Pear reviewed paper, poster and oral presentations in the scientific conferences.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The project consists of reducing the amounts of post consumed plastics in four major ways which are: Extracting the resins from post-consumer plastic (PC) products. Varieties of PC materials were dissolved in solvents and mixtures of the solvents, resins were extracted, thermally characterized. Using post-consumer plastics to produce other useful materials. Expanded PC polystyrene was used to replace gravels to produce cement blocks useful as construction materials. Using post consumed plastic in construction materials. PC polyethylene was converted to rods useful for 3-d printing and hot-glue Depolymerize post-consumed plastics to low molar mass material useful as fuel. 5 types of the post consumed plastics were collected, washed and cut to small sizes, then air dried for further uses. The project focused in four different areas. The work accomplished in those four major areas are: Extracting the resins from post consumed plastic products. The solubility of post-consumer plastics (PC) including polyethylene terephthalate (PC-PET), polyvinylchloride (PC-PVC) , low-density polyethylene (PC-LDPE), high-density polyethylene (PC-HDPE), and polystyrene (PC-PS) were tested in the solvents that were available in our laboratory at room temperature, and higher temperatures including acetone, benzene, chloroform, dichloromethane, diethyl benzene, dimethyl sulfate, ethyl methyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl benzoate, heptane, ligroin, methanol, methylene chloride, nitromethane, pyridine, propanol, phenyl ethanol, tetrahydrofuran (THF), 1,1,2,2-tetrachlorethan, chlorobenzene, and xylene. PC-PET did not dissolve in any solvent at room conditions, however, it was soluble in 1,1,2,2-tetrachlorethan, chlorobenzene, and xylene, at higher temperature above 80 °C. PC-PVC was soluble in various of the above solvents, and a mixture of THF-acetone, and THF-MEK. PC-HDPE was soluble only in 1,1,2,2-tetrachlorethan, chlorobenzene, and xylene at high temperatures. PC-PS was soluble in various of the above solvents, and a mixture of THF-acetone, and THF-MEK. The resin was recovered by precipitation in methanol. And the solvents were recovered by fractional distillations. The recovered resin was dissolved and precipitated again for maximum purity. The resins were dried under vacuum for a week and cauterized by thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry. Using post consumed plastics to produce other useful materials. The thermal stability of the post consumed polyethylene terephthalate (PC-PET) were measured at 10 heating rates, were measured. Its thermal stability and kinetic parameters were determined. An article about thermal properties of PC-PET, in a peer-reviewed journal was accepted for publication. Also, its thermal transition and meting point, and heat of melting was measured by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) at five different heating rates. These properties will be published as a poster and paper A setup to melt and recast post consumed plastics to rod and filaments was designed, the materials need for its contraction was ordered and received at the end of December 2017. The instrument was built during spring 2018 and was tested successfully during the summer 2018 Using post consumed plastic in construction materials A mold was made to produce insulated cement block for construction. Ten (10) samples were the gravels was replaced with PC-EPS were prepared and tested for mechanical strength and thermal conductivity. Depolymerize post-consumed plastics to low molar mass material useful as fuel.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 1. Nasrollah Hamidi (2019): Kinetics study of the thermal decomposition of post-consumer poly(ethylene terephthalate) in an argon atmosphere, Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part B
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 2. Nasrollah Hamidi, Shantavia Edmonds, Victoria Frazier & Felecia Clemons (2018): Temperature Dependence Characteristics of Biodegradable Polycaprolactone Grafted Propargyl Dehydroabietic Ester (PCL-g-DAPE), Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part B, DOI: 10.1080/00222348.2018.1429750
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 1. ShaQuanda Mack, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Recovering Poly(vinyl chloride) from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent extraction. Louis Stokes South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation (LS-SCAMP) Program in celebration of Research Scholars at the 2018 Undergraduate Research Symposium and Showcase on Friday, November 9, 2018 SCSU Orangeburg, SC. (place 1st category).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 2. Nurannahar Abdussalam, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Reclaiming of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent Extraction. Louis Stokes South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation (LS-SCAMP) Program in celebration of Research Scholars at the 2018 Undergraduate Research Symposium and Showcase on Friday, November 9, 2018 SCSU Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 3. ShaiAnthony Huff, and Nasrollah Hamidi Recovering high density poly(ethylene), HDPE from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent extraction. Louis Stokes South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation (LS-SCAMP) Program in celebration of Research Scholars at the 2018 Undergraduate Research Symposium and Showcase on Friday, November 9, 2018 SCSU Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 4. Josiah Henderson, and Nasrollah Hamidi, Design and Construction of an Extruder for Upgrading Post Consumer Plastics to Filament Suitable for 3-D Printing, Hot Glue, and other Uses. Louis Stokes South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation (LS-SCAMP) Program in celebration of Research Scholars at the 2018 Undergraduate Research Symposium and Showcase on Friday, November 9, 2018 SCSU Orangeburg, SC. (place 2nd in category)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 5. Brandon Galloways. Fabrication of Insulated Construction Block using Expanded Polystyrene and the study of its Chemical and Mechanical Properties. 5th Annual HBCU Climate Change Conference. September 19-23, 2018 Xavier University New Orleans, LA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 6. ShaQuanda Mack, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Recovering Poly(vinyl chloride) from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent extraction. 2018 National Meeting of National Organization for the Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), September 17-20, 2018, Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel, Orlando, Florida.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 11. ShaiAnthony Huff, Recovering high density poly(ethylene), HDPE from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent extraction. 2018 BRTCUM Program, SCSU, Davis Hall, June 21, July 12, and July 26, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 12. Brandon J. Galloway, and Nasrollah Hamidi Thermal Analysis and Solubility of Post Consumable Plastics SCSU, College of Graduate and Professional Studies Research Symposium on April 6, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 13. Saku Warshamana-Greene, Asmita Panthi, Nakea Pennant, Mahtabuddin Ahmed & Nasrollah Hamidi. Investigation of Bioactive Biomolecules: Preliminary Studies of Plant Extracts for Isolation of Bioactive Compounds. SCSU STEM Showcase Day, April 4, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 7. Josiah Henderson, and Nasrollah Hamidi Design and Construction of an Extruder for Upgrading Post Consumer Plastics to Filament Suitable for 3-D Printing, Hot Glue, and other Uses. 2018 National Meeting of National Organization for the Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), September 17-20, 2018, Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel, Orlando, Florida.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 8. Nurannahar Abdussalam, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Reclaiming of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent Extraction. 2018 National Meeting of National Organization for the Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), September 17-20, 2018, Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel, Orlando, Florida.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 9.Josiah Henderson, Design and Construction of an Extruder for Upgrading Post Consumer Plastics to Filament Suitable for 3-D Printing, Hot Glue, and other Uses. 2018 BRTCUM Program, SCSU, Davis Hall, June 21, July 12, and July 26, 2018, Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 10. ShaQuanda Mack, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Recovering Poly(vinyl chloride) from Post-Consumer Plastics via Solvent extraction. 2018 BRTCUM Program, SCSU, Davis Hall, June 21, July 12, and July26, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 14. Brandon J. Galloway, and Nasrollah Hamidi Using post-consumed expanded polystyrene t make insulate, light-weight blocks for construction. SCSU STEM Showcase Day, April 4, 2018 3 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 15. Nurannahar Abdussalam, Kelly Morgan, Brandon Galloways, Nasrollah Hamidi. Extraction of poly(ethylene terephthalate) resins from post consumed plastics Stem Showcase Day, SC State University CSMET, April 6, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 16. Josiah Henderson, and Nasrollah Hamidi. Design and fabrication of a filament extruder to fabricate 3-D printers filament from post consumed plastics Stem Showcase Day, SC State University CSMET, April 6, 2018 Orangeburg, SC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: 17. Nasrollah Hamidi. Kinetics study of thermal decomposition of post-consumer Costco carbonated water bottle made of poly(ethylene terephthalate) in argon. 70th Southeastern Regional Meeting of American Chemical Society, Augusta, GA, October 31 - November 3, 2018.


Progress 06/14/17 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience: For general public, the results will be published as pear reviewed paper, poster and oral presentations in the scientific conferences. The annual PAWC (Professional Agricultural Workers Conference) hosted by Tuskegee University. ACS (American Chemical Association) local regional and national meetings. For the audiences at SCSU including students Faculty and Staff, Quarterly student presentation at 1890 Research will be held. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The undergraduate student who was participating in this project gained experiences on the above research. Moreover, he participated in 3 days student training workshop provided by 1890 Research and extension. Also, he did quarterly student presentationat 1890 Research, as well he presented part of the research at PAWC conference in Tuskegee University, AL. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A poster was presented at the 75th PAWCconference (2017) A manuscript was accepted for publication. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This year was the beginning year of the project. During the coming year the seven types of common post consumed plastics will be collected washed and cut into small peace, and air dried to be available in the Lab for experimentation. The work will be accomplished in these four major areas are: Extracting the resins from post consumed plastic products. A set of experiments will be done to find a solvent for six types of post-consumed resins and extracting process. Using post consumed plastics to produce other useful materials. The thermal stability of the other post consumed plastics will be measured and their thermal stability and kinetic parameters will be studied. Also their thermal transition and meting heat will be measured by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) at five different heating rate. Once these properties were known condition for recasting to other utilities will be study. A setup to melt and recast post consumed plastics is in design and it will be built and several post consumed plastics will be casted to various shapes. Using post consumed plastic in construction materials A mold to cast a mixture of cements and Styrofoam to fabricate a light weight, insulated cement block for construction will be made. The mechanical properties of casting block will be measured in the Engineering lab, and it will be compared to the available one. Depolymerize post-consumed plastics to low molar mass material useful as fuel. De-polymerization of mixed resins materials will be studied. Moreover the results will be presented as: Pear reviewed paper, poster and oral presentations in the scientific conferences. Quarterly student presentation at 1890 Research. The annual PAWC (Professional Agricultural Workers Conference) hosted by Tuskegee University. ACS (American Chemical Association) local regional and national meetings.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Extracting the resins from post consumed plastic products. The solubility of polyethylene terephthalate post-consumed material was tested in the solvents that were available in our laboratory at room temperature including acetone, benzene, chloroform, dichloromethane, diethyl benzene, dimethyl sulfate, ethyl methyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl benzoate, heptane, ligroin, methanol, methylene chloride, nitromethane, pyridine, propanol, phenyl ethanol, tetrahydrofuran (THF). It did not dissolved in any of them under room conditions. A literature search showed that these polymers may be soluble in chlorobenzene, xylene, and other solvents that were not available in the lab. We ordered them. Using post consumed plastics to produce other useful materials. In order to reuse the plastic, the thermal stability and their melting temperature must be known. The thermal stability of the post consumed polyethylene terephthalate (PC-PET) were measured at 10 heating rate, to find its thermal stability and kinetic parameters. A manuscript is in preparation to describe its properties. Also, its thermal transition and meting point, and heat of melting was measured by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) at five different heating rate. These properties will be published as a poster A setup to melt and recast post consumed plastics was designed, the materials need for its contraction was ordered and received at the end of December 2017. Using post consumed plastic in construction materials A construction block of cements was chosen, a mold to cast a mixture of cements and Styrofoam to fabricate a light weight block similar to it was designed. The mold will be mad in next semester to produce insulated cement block for construction. After fabrication, the mechanical properties of it will be measured in the Engineering lab, and it will be compared to the available one.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Brandon J. Galloway, and Nasrollah Hamidi Thermal Analysis and Solubility of Post Consumable Plastics professional agricultural workers conference (PAWC), Tuskegee, Alabama, USA, Nov 2017.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hamidi, Nasrollah; Edmonds, Shantavia; Frazier, Victoria Temperature Dependence Characteristics of Biodegradable Polycaprolactone Grafted Propargyl Dehydroabietic Ester (PCL-g-DAPE) Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part B: Physics. 2018