CATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF POLYSTYRENE. MODELING OF MOLECULAR WEIGHT DISTRIBUTIONS

GIANOGLIO PANTANO, IOANA A.; ASTEASUAIN, MARIANO; BRANDOLIN, ADRIANA; SARMORIA, CLAUDIA

Los Cocos, Córdoba

Simposio; V Argentine-Chilean Polymer Symposium / VII Argentine Polymer Symposium / IX Chilean Symposium of Polymer Chemistry and Physical Chemistry; 2009

Comité Organizador Archipol '09

Polymer recycling is an attractive solution in order to reduce plastic waste accumulation. In this way, mixtures of discarded Polystyrene (PS) and Polyethylene (PE) may be compatibilized through a Friedel-Crafts alkylation. The reaction, catalyzed by Aluminum Chloride (AlCl3) and styrene, produces a graft copolymer that improves the properties of the blend (Díaz et al., 2007). As an initial stage in the development of a comprehensive model of the compatibilization process, we modeled the effect of AlCl3 on PS, since PS is degraded in compatibilization conditions (Díaz et al., 2009). Final polymer properties depend strongly on molecular weight and molecular weight distribution (MWD). Then, controlling these parameters would allow obtaining materials with certain desired properties. In this work, probability generating functions are used in order to predict the MWD during PS degradation for various catalyst concentrations.