Practical dechlorination of PVDC containing films

Abstract

This study investigates recycling methods for processing PVDC coated plastic films, removing chlorine from the plastic surface. Experiments were conducted where the Cl content of PVDC-coated plastic film was reduced via hydrothermal dechlorination using several different reagents: NaOH, NH4OH, Na2CO3, KMnO4 and HMPA. The treated film was tested with FTIR and DSC for qualitative analysis of their effectiveness in dechlorination and compatibility with recycling processes. Na2Co3 and KMnO4 are proven to be ineffective. NaOH, NH4OH and HMPA were able to dechlorinate the plastic film. Plastic film that underwent hydrothermal dechlorination with NaOH and NH4OH appeared to be suitable for mechanical recycling and thermal depolymerisation via pyrolysis, whereas the film reacted with HMPA would only be suitable for thermal depolymerisation. These results suggest that chlorinated MPW could be made suitable for recycling via simple hydrothermal reactions with bases like NaOH and NH4OH.