Identifying, Quantifying, and Recovering a Sorbitol-Type Petrochemical Additive in Industrial Wastewater and Its Subsequent Application in a Polymeric Matrix as a Nucleating Agent

Abstract

Currently, polypropylene (PP) is highlighted using sorbitol-based clarifying agents since these agents are high quality, low cost, and work as a barrier against moisture, which makes PP ideal for packaging food, beverages, and medical products, among others. The use of analytical methods capable of recovering these additives in wastewater streams and then reusing them in the PP clarification stage represents an innovative methodology that makes a substantial contribution to the circular economy of the PP production industry. In this study, a method of extraction and recovery of the Millad NX 8000 was developed. The additive was recovered using GC-MS and extracted with an activated carbon column plus glass fiber, using an injection molded sample, obtaining a recovery rate greater than 96%. TGA, DSC, and FTIR were used to evaluate the recovered additive’s glass transitions and purity. The thermal degradation of the recovered additive was found to be between 340 and 420 °C, with a melting temperature of 246 °C, adopting the same behavior as the pure additive. In FTIR, the characteristic absorption peak of Millad NX 8000 was observed at 1073 cm−1, which indicates the purity of the extracted compound. Therefore, this work develops a new additive recovery methodology with high purity to regulate the crystallization behavior and of PP.