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Improving the Properties of Waste Polystyrene Foam via Heterogeneous Sulfonation: A Sustainable Method for Oil/Water Separation Applications
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Waste polystyrene foam was chemically modified via heterogeneous sulfonation to introduce hydrophilic sulfonate groups, significantly improving wettability, thermal stability, and performance as an oil/water separation membrane. This approach offers a sustainable method for valorizing plastic waste—particularly polystyrene, a major environmental pollutant—into functional materials with industrial applications.
The heterogeneous sulfonation process was used to modify waste polystyrene foam by introducing sulfonate groups to the benzene ring to enhance its hydrophilicity and thermal stability. This process was carried out using concentrated sulfuric acid at different temperatures. The sulfonation of PS was confirmed using FTIR spectrophotometry. The degree of sulfonation (DS) and cation-exchange capacity (CEC) were quantitatively assessed, and the result shows that sulfonated polystyrene PSS synthesized at 40°C exhibited the highest DS and CEC of 20.11%. 0.43 meq/g, respectively. Sulfonated polystyrene (PSS) samples were also analyzed by contact angle measurement and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results indicate that sulfonated polystyrene (PSS) has increased wettability, surface polarity, and higher thermal stability compared to pure polystyrene (PS). The use of sulfonated polystyrene (PSS) in applying oil/water separation as membranes shows promising results, exhibiting high separation efficiency and water flux. These results highlight the importance of transforming plastic waste through sulfonation as an effective and sustainable approach to reducing waste and converting waste into valuable materials.
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