Extraction of Polyethylene Residue Components in Soil

Abstract

The extraction of polyethylene residue components in soil was presented in this work, where polyethylene (PE) powder (Mw=5598) was taken as a simulated polyethylene residue, and decalin was as an excellent solvent. The effects of times of reflux extraction, total extraction time and soil type on the extraction ratio were investigated, aimed at finding out the optimum extraction condition. Results show that the optimum extraction ratio achieves up to 90 % (w/w) at 100 after extraction for 20 mins thrice. Meanwhile, the times of reflux extraction has the most significant influence on extraction ratio, followed by the total extraction time. However, soil type has little influence. The FTIR spectra illustrates that the structure of PE is not destroyed during the extraction. However, the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution test show the average molecular weight of PE decreases after the extraction, which is possibly caused by the degradation of PE.