Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Decomposition (Chemistry); Polymers--Recycling; Polyvinyl chloride--Recycling; Polyvinyl chloride--Thermal properties;
Abstract
With the advent of new polymer technology, many different types of plastics and plastic additives are being produced. These new types of additives and plastics make the recycling of polymers increasingly difficult. In 1994 approximately 75 billion pounds of plastics were produced and over 40 million pounds were vinyl type plastics (thermoplastic). Although, thermoplastic can be reground and remolded into like products, of the 40 million pounds of thermoplastic, only 5 million pounds were recycled. In contrast, thermoset plastic is another type of plastic that not easily recycled through traditional methods. Thermoset plastic consists of varying plastic resins that are "set" with heat to form the final product. Once heat set, the polymers cannot be remolded. Although these polymers contain many useful products, the fate of many of these polymers is the landfill. Pyrolysis is a recycling technique that allows for the thermal degradation of polymers and the retrieval of many different hydrocarbons. Pyrolysis is utilized to thermally degrade organic compounds and retrieve economically viable products from difficult to recycle starting materials. Since pyrolysis is based on thermal decomposition, the products that are produced are dependent on the amount of thermal energy that is allowed into the system. With the difficulty in knowing what hydrocarbons are going to be produced from the different types of plastics, a cost effective way to screen polymers rapidly needs to be developed. Current techniques involve the use of pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (py-GC/MS) and laser desorption time of flight mass spectrometry. These techniques allow analysis of the products but fail to give in-depth mechanistic details. Laser desorption Fourier transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometry (LD-FTICR MS), on the other hand, allows for modeling of the chemistry associated with pyrolysis in a cost effective manner. This project provided a unique approach to changing the products formed, by optimizing the pyrolysis conditions (temperature and catalysts). Laser desorption Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry indicated that the pyrolysis of poly (vinyl chloride) occurs in the condensed phase. LD-FT-ICR also indicated that iron is a catalyst for the dehydrochlorination reaction of 1-chloropropane.
Year of Submission
1996
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Chemistry
First Advisor
Curtiss Hanson
Second Advisor
Ira Simet
Third Advisor
Duane Bartak
Date Original
1996
Object Description
1 PDF file (77 leaves)
Copyright
©1996 Brian Scott Glaser
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Glaser, Brian Scott, "Modeling the Reaction Mechanism of Poly(Vinyl Chloride) During Pyrolytic Decomposition" (1996). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2750.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2750
Comments
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