EFRI E3P: End of Life Plastics as Starting Materials for Filtration and Barrier Applications

EFRI E3P：报废塑料作为过滤和屏障应用的起始材料

• 批准号: 2029387
• 负责人: Steven Weinman
• 金额: $ 199.89万
• 依托单位: University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2024-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2029387&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EFRI; E3P; End; Life; Plastics

Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are types of plastic that make major contributions to the amount of pollution the environment. In this project, the investigators aim to “upcycle” (rather than recycle) plastic wastes into value-added products for filter and barrier applications through three approaches. They will design waterproof, thermally and electrically insulating elastomers through controlled PVC degradation and crosslinking to transform the waste PVC into Neoprene®-substitute materials that can be 3D printed to form seals, gaskets, and a variety of other products. This provides a new pathway to valuable rubbers, prevents the release of toxic compounds, and reduces reliance on the hazardous feedstocks currently used in rubber manufacture. The investigators will engineer new green solvents to overcome the challenges of dissolving and reprocessing PP and PET, which will allow for safer handling/processing of polymer solutions, drive process intensification, and reduce health and safety risks posed by the current processing conditions. They will make non-woven fabrics commonly used for household air filters and mechanical supports for water treatment membranes, from waste PP or PET which will improve the environmental impact of air and water filtration to help ensure clean air for buildings and drinking water. Additionally, field sampling of plastic in the aquatic ecosystems will provide real waste samples for the upcycling methods, and an estimate of the capacity for these approaches to reduce plastic pollution. The proposed research will be carried out by graduate and undergraduate students, who will collaboratively develop research plans, mentor local HBCU students through a summer immersion experience, and perform STEM outreach to local K-12 students from underrepresented groups.This project aims to create transformative new avenues for converting common waste plastics, specifically PP, PVC, and PET, into value-added products. The investigators hypothesize: (1) if waste PVC is chemically processed in a controlled manner via partial dehydrochlorination and subsequent crosslinking, then valuable elastomers with tunable properties can be directly produced without relying on new petroleum-based monomers, (2) if a new approach to molecular design using combined experimental and computational methods is developed around molecules with glycerol skeletons, then PET and PP can be dissolved and reprocessed under safer handling/processing conditions, and (3) if PET and PP fibers recovered from waste are used in non-woven fabrics, they will not change air filter performance properties and performance of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes synthesized on top of these fabrics compared to those on top of commercial non-woven fabrics. A fundamental understanding will be gained on how solvent choice, additives, plasticizers, dyes, fillers, etc. impact PVC dehydrochlorination, PVDF membrane separation properties, and household air filter properties. New knowledge will be gained about the effectiveness of these processes on eliminating waste plastic from entering aquatic ecosystems. A techno-economic analysis will generate knowledge on the commercial feasibility of these new ways of upcycling plastics and provide guidance for further improvements.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

聚乙烯（PE），聚丙烯（PP），聚（乙烯基氯化物）（PVC）和聚乙烯三甲酸酯（PET）是塑料的类型，可对环境的污染量产生重大贡献。在这个项目中，研究人员的目标是通过三种方法“升级”（而不是回收）塑料废物，用于过滤和屏障应用中的增值产品。他们将通过受控的PVC降解和交联设计防水，热和电绝缘弹性体，以将废物PVC转换为Neoprene®-替代材料，这些材料可以打印3D以形成密封，垫片和各种其他产品。这为有价值的橡胶提供了新的途径，防止有毒化合物的释放，并减少了橡胶制造商当前使用的危险原料的缓解。调查人员将设计新的绿色解决方案，以克服解散和再处理PP和PET的挑战，这将允许安全处理/处理聚合物解决方案，驱动过程加强，并减少当前处理条件带来的健康和安全风险。他们将制造出通常用于家庭空气过滤器的非编织织物，并从废物PP或PET中提供机械支持，从而改善空气和水过滤的环境影响，以帮助确保建筑物和饮用水的清洁空气。此外，水生生态系统中塑料的现场采样将为升级方法提供真正的废物样本，并对这些方法减少塑料污染的能力进行估计。 The proposed research will be carried out by graduate and undergraduate students, who will collaboratively develop research plans, mental local HBCU students through a summer immersion experience, and perform STEM outreach to local K-12 students from Underrepresented groups.This project aims to create transformative new avenues for converting common waste plastics, specifically PP, PVC, and PET, into value-added products.研究人员假设：（1）如果废物PVC通过部分脱氢氯化和随后的交联处理，那么具有可调性能的有价值的弹性体可以直接生产具有可调性能的有价值的弹性体，而无需依靠新的基于石油的单体，（2）使用分子设计的新方法，然后使用分子的新方法，是使用分子的新方法，是分子的，是分子的，是分子的，是分子的，是分子的，是分子的，是分子的，是分子的，是分子的，是分子的，这是分子的，是分子的，这是分子的，是分子的， PP可以在安全处理/加工条件下溶解和再处理，（3）如果从废物中回收的PET和PP纤维在非织造织物中使用，它们将不会改变空气过滤器的性能和多乙烯基氟化物（PVDF）膜的性能，与这些织物相比，与这些织物相比，与这些织物相比，与这些织物相比，这些织物与fopernon Nonnonnonnonic Fabrics相比。将对溶剂选择，添加剂，增塑剂，染料，填充剂等如何产生基本了解。影响PVC脱氢氯化，PVDF膜分离特性和户外空气滤清器特性。关于这些过程对消除浪费塑料进入水生生态系统的有效性的新知识。技术经济分析将为这些新的塑料塑料的新方法的商业可行性提供知识，并为进一步的改进提供了指导。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是通过基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响来通过评估来获得的支持。

项目成果

Glycerol‐derived solvents containing two or three distinct functional groups enabled by trifluoroethyl glycidyl ether

含有两个或三个由三氟乙基缩水甘油醚启用的不同官能团的甘油衍生溶剂

• DOI: 10.1002/aic.17533
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: AIChE Journal
• 影响因子: 3.7
• 作者: Qian, Shuai;Liu, Xiaoyang;Turner, Christoffer Heath;Bara, Jason E.
• 通讯作者: Bara, Jason E.

Benchmarking Semiempirical QM Methods for Calculating the Dipole Moment of Organic Molecules

用于计算有机分子偶极矩的半经验 QM 方法的基准测试

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.1c10144
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: The Journal of Physical Chemistry A
• 作者: Soyemi, Ademola;Szilvási, Tibor
• 通讯作者: Szilvási, Tibor

Upcycled Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Electrospun Nanofibers from Waste PVC-Based Materials for Water Treatment

• DOI: 10.1021/acsaenm.3c00245
• 发表时间: 2023-06
• 期刊: ACS Applied Engineering Materials
• 作者: Atta Ur Razzaq;D. J. McEachern;P. Rupar;Phoebe R. Willis;S. Mahmoodi;M. Esfahani

Calculated Physicochemical Properties of Glycerol-Derived Solvents to Drive Plastic Waste Recycling

计算甘油衍生溶剂的物理化学性质以驱动塑料废物回收

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.2c04567
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
• 影响因子: 4.2
• 作者: Soyemi, Ademola;Szilvási, Tibor
• 通讯作者: Szilvási, Tibor

Synthesis and properties of symmetric glycerol-derived 1,2,3-triethers and 1,3-diether-2-ketones for CO2 absorption

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2021.117150
• 发表时间: 2022-02
• 期刊: Chemical Engineering Science
• 影响因子: 4.7
• 作者: Shuai Qian;Xiaoyang Liu;C. Turner;J. Bara