Recycling of Post-Consumer HDPE Drug Packaging with Banana Pseudostem Fiber

Summary As the life expectancy of the population increases, the quantity of solid waste produced has also risen. There is therefore a clear need to recycle materials, particularly polymers, and it is very important to reduce the time taken for materials to degrade after they have been discarded. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Macromolecular symposia. Vol. 367; no. 1; pp. 119 - 125
Main Authors:	Collet, Adriana, Flach, Michel V., da Silva, Patrícia A., Catto, André Luís, Klauck, Cláudia Regina, Rodrigues, Marco Antônio Siqueira, Jahno, Vanusca D.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Weinheim Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-09-2016 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects:	Assessments banana pseudostem fiber Bananas Biodegradability biodegradation composite Composite materials Degradation Drugs Fibers Packaging polyethylene Polyethylenes recycling
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Summary As the life expectancy of the population increases, the quantity of solid waste produced has also risen. There is therefore a clear need to recycle materials, particularly polymers, and it is very important to reduce the time taken for materials to degrade after they have been discarded. The objective of this study was to develop a composite material from a mixture of waste drug packaging made from HDPE and fiber from the pseudostems of banana plants. A series of experiments were conducted to determine the characteristics of this compound, including tests of its mechanical properties, analyses with scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy, and tests of biodegradability and ecotoxicity. The infrared analysis showed that the compound was free from chemical groups that could indicate contamination by medications. The biodegradability assessment showed that the HDPERC5 compound took 28% less time to degrade after use was than the post‐consumer HDPE (HDPER). The HDPERC5 compound exhibited the best results for possible use for production of domestic utilities, in addition to a shorter degradation time if its final disposal destination were to be a landfill.
Bibliography:	ArticleID:MASY201500161 istex:E75D642A0BBDDD6CE2A21CB887CC37E4D78537ED ark:/67375/WNG-1V57H2JW-Z ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1022-1360 1521-3900
DOI:	10.1002/masy.201500161