Fecha de publicación: 25/10/2024 Fuente: Molecules - Revista científica (MDPI) Molecules, Vol. 29, Pages 5037: Degradation of Decabromodiphenyl Ether Dispersed in Poly (Acrylo-Butadiene-Styrene) Using a Rotatory Laboratory Pilot Under UV-Visible Irradiation
Molecules doi: 10.3390/molecules29215037
Authors:
Rachida Khadidja Benmammar
Zohra Bouberka
Christian Malas
Yvain Carpentier
Kawssar Mujtaba Haider
Venkateswara Rao Mundlapati
Michael Ziskind
Cristian Focsa
Skander Khelifi
Franck Poutch
Fouad Laoutid
Philippe Supiot
Corinne Foissac
Ulrich Maschke

The growing volume of plastics derived from electronic waste (e-waste) underscores the imperative for environmentally sustainable strategies for the management of this waste. In light of the paramount importance of this issue, a pilot demonstrator for the decontamination of polymers containing Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs) has been developed. The objective is to investigate the potential for decontaminating BFR-containing polymers from e-waste via UV-visible irradiation using a rotatory laboratory pilot operating under primary vacuum conditions. This report focuses on binary model blends composed of 90 weight% (wt%) poly(Acrylo-Butadiene-Styrene) (ABS) pellets and 10 wt% Deca-Bromo-Diphenyl Ether (DBDE), which is one of the most toxic BFRs. The efficiency of the irradiation process was evaluated as a function of pellet diameter and irradiation time using Fourier Transform InfraRed spectroscopy (FTIR) and High-Resolution Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectroscopy (HR-LDI-MS). As a consequence, ABS + DBDE achieved a decontamination efficiency of 97% when irradiated with pellets of less than 1 mm in diameter for a period of 4 h. Additionally, the thermal behavior of the irradiated samples was investigated through thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. It was thus established that the application of UV-visible irradiation had no significant impact on the overall thermal properties of ABS.