cover image: Electron Beam Processing as a Promising Tool to Decontaminate Polymers Containing Brominated Flame Retardants

Electron Beam Processing as a Promising Tool to Decontaminate Polymers Containing Brominated Flame Retardants

24 Nov 2023

Electron Beam (EB) irradiation was utilized to decontaminate model systems of industrial polymers that contain a brominated flame retardant (BFR). Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and Polycarbonate (PC) are two types of polymers commonly found in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). In this study, these polymers were exposed to EB irradiation to degrade DecaBromoDiphenylEther (DBDE), one of the most toxic BFRs. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis demonstrated an 87% degradation rate of DBDE for the ABS-DBDE system and 91% for the PC-DBDE system following an 1800 kGy irradiation dose. Thermal analysis using Differential Scanning Calorimetry revealed the presence of crosslinking in ABS and a minor reduction in the glass transition temperature of PC after EB processing. Polymers exhibited thermal stability after photolysis, as indicated by thermogravimetric analysis. In summary, EB irradiation had no impact on the overall thermal properties of both polymers. High-resolution mass spectrometry analysis has confirmed the debromination of both ABS-DBDE and PC-DBDE systems. Therefore, the results obtained are promising and could offer an alternative approach for removing bromine and other additives from plastic E-waste.

Authors

Rachida Khadidja Benmammar, Venkateswara-Rao Mundlapati, Zohra Bouberka, Ana Barrera, Jean-Noel Staelens, Jean-Francois Tahon, Michael Ziskind, Yvain Carpentier, Cristian Focsa, Philippe Supiot, Corinne Foissac, Ulrich Maschke

Organizations mentioned

European Commission European Parliament
Bibliographic Reference
Rachida Khadidja Benmammar, Venkateswara-Rao Mundlapati, Zohra Bouberka, Ana Barrera, Jean-Noel Staelens, et al.. Electron Beam Processing as a Promising Tool to Decontaminate Polymers Containing Brominated Flame Retardants. Molecules, 2023, Molecules, 28 (23), pp.7753. ⟨10.3390/molecules28237753⟩. ⟨hal-04310223⟩
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28237753
HAL Collection
['CNRS - Centre national de la recherche scientifique', 'Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Lille', 'INRA - Institut national de la recherche agronomique', 'Institut de Chimie du CNRS', 'Archive ouverte en agrobiosciences', 'Université de Lille', 'Institut National de Recherche en Agriculture, Alimentation et Environnement', 'Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molécules', 'MICA-Unités', 'Réseau "Systèmes Agricoles et Eau"']
HAL Identifier
4310223
Institution
['Centrale Lille', 'Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie', 'Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement', "Université des sciences et de la Technologie d'Oran Mohamed Boudiaf [Oran]", 'Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique', 'Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Lille']
Laboratory
['Unité Matériaux et Transformations - UMR 8207', 'Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molécules - UMR 8523']
Published in
France

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