Journal
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Volume 46, Issue -, Pages 56-61Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2015.08.041
Keywords
Interfacial interactions; Plastics flotation; Hydrophobic attraction; Surface energy
Categories
Funding
- National Basic Research Program of China [2010CB630903]
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Central South University
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Plastics flotation used for recycling of plastic wastes receives increasing attention for its industrial application. In order to study the mechanism of plastics flotation, the interfacial interactions between plastic particles in flotation system were investigated through calculation of Lifshitz-van der Waals (LW) function, Lewis acid-base (AB) Gibbs function, and the extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek potential energy profiles. The results showed that van der Waals force between plastic particles is attraction force in flotation system. The large hydrophobic attraction, caused by the AB Gibbs function, is the dominant interparticle force. Wetting agents present significant effects on the interfacial interactions between plastic particles. It is found that adsorption of wetting agents promotes dispersion of plastic particles and decreases the floatability. Pneumatic flotation may improve the recovery and purity of separated plastics through selective adsorption of wetting agents on plastic surface. The relationships between hydrophobic attraction and surface properties were also examined. It is revealed that there exists a three-order polynomial relationship between the AB Gibbs function and Lewis base component. Our finding provides some insights into mechanism of plastics flotation. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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