Polystyrene recyclyling: Extraction of colored contaminants

This research aimed to develop a small scale method of separating colored contaminants from PS samples by extraction with activated charcoal. Two extraction methods were used, namely Soxhlet Extraction and Reflux Extraction. The reflux method was evaluated to be more effective in extracting the colored contaminants. The glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the polymers were determined. The Tg of the Soxhlet-extracted sample was observed to be lower than the noncontaminated and the reflux-extracted samples. No significant changes in molecular weight averages and molecular weight distributions of extracted and non-extracted PS samples was observed