Solvent effect in the polyethylene recovery from multilayer postconsumer aseptic packaging

Abstract

Polyethylene films were separated and recovered from polyethylene–aluminum composites derived from recycling multilayer postconsumer aseptic packaging. A brief study about the separation process by dissolving PE–aluminum (PE–Al) composites into a series of organic solvents with a combination of time and temperature is presented. Through this procedure, 56% polyethylene is recovered from this kind of composites in optimized conditions. DSC and TGA studies were performed to determine the thermal stability of recovered polyethylene films and to establish a comparison with a PE reference commercial product, demonstrating that recovered polyethylene films kept their thermal properties.