A novel core-shell recycled plastic aggregate from WEEE plastic and Portland cement

LUCAS ERNESTO PEISIMO; MELINA ANGELELLI; ARIEL LEONARDO CAPPELLETTI; JERÓNIMO KREIKER; SANDRA E. MARTIN; MELINA GÓMEZ; ROSANA GAGGINO; PAULA M. UBERMAN

Berlin

Conferencia; 3rd Green & Sustainable Chemistry Conference; 2018

The waste from electronic and electric equipment (WEEE) is quickly growing in volume and diversity. Much of the constitutive materials of the WEEE could be recycled, but the plastic fraction (WEEEP), do not receive a valorisation treatment neither a decontamination destination. Thus, the majority of the WEEEP are deposited in landfills. This lack of recycling alternatives is due to the difficult to reprocess this waste because of the heterogeneity of constitutive materials, the variability in its percentage composition, and the presence of additives. The WEEEP contains an important amount of heavy metals and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). These metals and organic compound are hazardous for human and environment; therefore these wastes are considered dangerous waste by the law. In order to revalue this waste, we development a cement based stabilization strategy for these contaminants. The WEEEP is covered with a mixture of cement, a very fine aggregate and active charcoal. This strategy takes a core-shell concept to obtain a recycled plastic aggregate (RPA) with possible use in the construction industry. The hot water extractions and acid digestion of the samples was carried out to obtain leached contaminants. The quantification of metals was made by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The organic compounds were quantified by gas chromatography with FID detection (GC?FID). The antimony showed an important diminution of concentration in the lixiviated of the synthetic aggregate. On the other hand, the major organic compound detected in WEEEP was the tetrabromo bisphenol ? A (TBBPA). The concentration in the leached water of TBBPA and the organic compounds derived from degradation of the polymer were minor in the optimized RPA than the pure cement based RPA and than pure WEEE plastic.