Recycling of a post-industrial printed multilayer plastic film containing polyurethane inks by solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation

Sánchez-Rivera, Kevin L.; Munguía-López, Aurora Carmen; Zhou, Panzheng; Cecon, Victor S.; Yu, Jiuling; Nelson, Kevin; Miller, Daniel; Grey, Steve; Xu, Zhuo; Bar-Ziv, Ezra; Vorst, Keith L.; Curtzwiler, Greg W.; Van Lehn, Reid C.; Zavala, Victor M.; Huber, George W.

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107086

Recycling of a post-industrial printed multilayer plastic film containing polyurethane inks by solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation

Journal Article · Thu Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Resources, Conservation and Recycling

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107086· OSTI ID:2475634

Sánchez-Rivera, Kevin L. ^[1]; Munguía-López, Aurora Carmen ^[1]; Zhou, Panzheng ^[1]; Cecon, Victor S. ^[2]; Yu, Jiuling ^[1]; Nelson, Kevin ^[3]; Miller, Daniel ^[3]; Grey, Steve ^[3]; Xu, Zhuo ^[4]; Bar-Ziv, Ezra ^[5]; Vorst, Keith L. ^[2]; Curtzwiler, Greg W. ^[2]; Van Lehn, Reid C. ^[1]; Zavala, Victor M. ^[1]; Huber, George W. ^[1]

University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
Iowa State University, Ames, IA (United States)
Amcor, Neenah Innovation Center, WI (United States)
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI (United States)
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI (United States)

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. Furthermore, 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.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO)

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0009285

OSTI ID:: 2475634

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2067636

Journal Information:: Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Journal Name: Resources, Conservation and Recycling Vol. 197; ISSN 0921-3449

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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