Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR) , IIT Madras
Method for Producing Polystyrene Microparticles or Microfibers from Waste Polystyrene using Spinning Disk
Categories for this Invention
Technology: Polystyrene Microparticles and Microfibers
Category: Chemistry & Chemical Analysis
Industry: Chemical Industry/Textile Manufacturing Industry
Application: Micro-particle synthesis /Polymer particle production,Biomedical application.
Market: The global market size of Polystyrene was valued at USD 81.1 Billion in 2022, and is estimated to reach USD 160.1 Billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 7.1% from 2023 to 2032.
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Problem Statement
- Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is a cost-effective, lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and processable polymer used in various applications.
- However, its waste production posses environmental issues due to its non-biodegradability and large volume to weight ratio. WPS is primarily disposed of through landfills or incineration, causing soil and water pollution.
- Mechanical recycling methods are expensive and aim to eliminate polystyrene. Recycling WPS into valuable products like nano or microparticles and microfibers is necessary for biomedical applications, imaging, and oil adsorption.
- Conventional methods have limitations, necessitating an alternative method for microfiber production.
Technology
- A method for reclaiming polystyrene microparticles or microfibers from waste expanded polystyrene using a spinning disc apparatus.
- The process involves dissolving a predetermined amount of polystyrene waste in filtering to remove impurities, and dilution to create a diluted feed liquid.
- Then introduced into the spinning disc apparatus to produce micro-droplets with a narrow size distribution.
- Concentrated feed fluid is used to generate fluid ligaments, resulting in microfibers with a narrow range of diameters and nanoporous surfaces.
Key Features / Value Proposition
- Polystyrene microfibres average diameter 10 ± 4 micrometer.
- Polystyrene micro-particles is obtained in the range 90-125 microns.
- Biomedical applications, imaging, preparation of engineered colloid particles, oil adsorption.
- Used for lateral flow tests, latex agglutination tests, flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy, and as calibration particles.
- One of the best oil sorbents to absorb oil from the ocean in case of oil spills.
- Polystyrene fibers are also used as fiber membranes and as additives in the paint industry.
Questions about this Technology?
Contact For Licensing
sm-marketing@imail.iitm.ac.in
ipoffice2@iitm.ac.in
Research Lab
Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy
Prof. Basavaraja Madivala Gurappa
Department of Chemical Engineering
Intellectual Property
- IITM IDF Ref.2560
- Patent No: IN 529955
Technology Readiness Level
TRL-4
Experimentally validated in Lab;