Utilization of Glycerin from Biodiesel Production in Textile Waste Recycling (original) (raw)

The biodiesel industry currently produces 260.000 tons per year producing glycerin as byproduct which finds absorption difficulties in the market that uses 30 thousand tons per year. The textile industry produces about 3.4 million tons. of polyamides worldwide, which are used in clothes making and about 15-51% of the fabric is discarded as waste. This work aimed the reusing of textile polyamide 66 waste using glycerin from biodiesel adding value to these supply chains. The procedure consists in heating crude or pure glycerin to 190 °C and the addition of textile fabric waste and water as a non-solvent producing recycled polyamide 66 powder. The thermal analysis showed the thermal behavior remained like polyamide 66 showing a decay in 461 ° C and some decays for the contaminants in crude glycerin like methanol and free fatty acids. The recycled polyamide 66 melting point ranged from 253°C to 257°C indicating low polymer degradation. The 13 C-NMR spectroscopic analyzes and infrared spectra exhibited profile similar to the starting material showing the maintenance of the molecular structure. The new process was promising due to the use of two environmental liabilities generated in great amounts, producing recycled poliamide 66 with low costs and good quality.