Development of Polypropylene Plastic Wastes into Emulsion Paint Binder for Water-Resistant Emulsion Paint Formulation

This study addresses the urgent need for sustainable management of plastic waste by presenting a novel approach to convert Polypropylene (PP) waste into a hydrophobic emulsion paint binder. Polypropylene (PP) waste was pyrolised to give pyrolysis oil. Various properties of PP pyrolysis oil, including density, (0.8254g/cm3), viscosity (2.94 cp), refractive index (1.153 bxSc), turbidity (77 NTU), water dispersibility (slightly dispersed), and flashpoint (71 oC) were investigated. This results falls short in crucial aspects like film formation and viscosity. To address these limitations, blending PP pyrolysis oil with Polystyrene (PS) pyrolysis oil was carried out and the result revealed viscosity to be 4.06 cp and film formation was achieved. PS pyrolysis oil possesses complementary properties such as viscosity (4.06 cp), and film formation ability that could enhance the performance of PP pyrolysis oil as a binder. Analysis techniques including FTIR, XRD, SEM, and AFM were employed to characterize the properties of PS, PP and PP/PS blends, demonstrating the potential synergies between the two materials. The resulting PP/PS binder was used to formulate emulsion paint and the quality of the paint investigated. The emulsion paint from PP/PS binder proved to be of high quality with exceptional water resistant behavior (waterproof). This research offers a promising avenue for converting waste into wealth while addressing the poor water resistant associated with conventional emulsion paint and the issue of environmental pollution emanating from plastic waste.