Performance of D-Limonene/Ethanol in the Selective Recovery of PE from LDPE/VMPET/PET Laminates

摘要

The prevalent sachet economy in the Philippines has led to the country becoming the third largest polluter of oceans in the world. The sachets used for packaging are made of plastic laminates which typically consist of varying polymeric layers combined with other modifiers to improve barrier properties. In this study, applicability of D-limonene and ethanol as solvent/non-solvent pair for the separation of polyethylene (PE) from vacuum-metallized polyethylene terephthalate (VMPET) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was established. PE recovery from LDPE/VMPET/PET laminates were calculated to be 50.79% w/w.