Reference number : GC-2017-Q3-00546, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Patience, Gregory (École Polytechnique de Montréal), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : Quebec|Québec, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Engage Grants for universities, program name french : Subventions d'engagement partenarial pour les universités, program purpose english : Polystyrene is a versatile polymer that is produced at enormous scale and applied in many consumer products_x000D_
including packaging. Nonbiodegradable polymers, like polystyrene, represent an environmental burden;_x000D_
expanded polystyrene is among the most intractable components in municipal solid. The industry is now trying_x000D_
to derive value from waste polymer and end-of life polymer for a feedstock. This drive reduces waste and has_x000D_
an economic benefit because the material costs are lower than the costs of the petroleum feedstock. Thermal_x000D_
cracking and pyrolysis are among the several technologies to recover valuable monomers-the building blocks_x000D_
of polymers. In these processes, the polymer is heated to temperatures exceeding 400 oC and even beyond 600_x000D_
oC and the polymer decomposes to styrene (monomer) and hydrocarbons (benzene, for example)._x000D_
End-of-life polystyrene contains thermal stabilizers, brominated fire retardants, benzoyl peroxide, antimony_x000D_
trioxide, among others. Brominated compounds accompany polystyrene consumer products to provide fire_x000D_
proof properties to meet UL or CSA fire resistance requirement. However, many of these compounds are now_x000D_
banned. Lavergne Group is a major Canadian company that recycles polymers but they must remove the_x000D_
banned compounds. Together we will develop technology to scavenge the brominated compounds to meet_x000D_
federal requirements. Removing these compounds reduces the burden of polystyrene to municipal landfills but_x000D_
will maintain their supply of feedstock for their customers as they have a viable business operational._x000D_
We will first measure the thermal properties of the polystyrene in a thermogravimetric analyser. This data will_x000D_
identify the temperature range to conduct reactor tests to scavenge the bromine compounds. In the next step, we_x000D_
will heat the polystyrene in a fluidized bed reactor and monitor the gas product composition. We will also_x000D_
condense the gases and analyse the aqueous phase in an HPLC analyser. Our GC-MS analyser will identify the_x000D_
compounds of the organic phase. The third step will identify absorbents that we can add directly into the_x000D_
fluidized bed to scavenge the brominated compounds or to add a post-treatment step to capture them., program purpose french : Polystyrene is a versatile polymer that is produced at enormous scale and applied in many consumer products_x000D_
including packaging. Nonbiodegradable polymers, like polystyrene, represent an environmental burden;_x000D_
expanded polystyrene is among the most intractable components in municipal solid. The industry is now trying_x000D_
to derive value from waste polymer and end-of life polymer for a feedstock. This drive reduces waste and has_x000D_
an economic benefit because the material costs are lower than the costs of the petroleum feedstock. Thermal_x000D_
cracking and pyrolysis are among the several technologies to recover valuable monomers-the building blocks_x000D_
of polymers. In these processes, the polymer is heated to temperatures exceeding 400 oC and even beyond 600_x000D_
oC and the polymer decomposes to styrene (monomer) and hydrocarbons (benzene, for example)._x000D_
End-of-life polystyrene contains thermal stabilizers, brominated fire retardants, benzoyl peroxide, antimony_x000D_
trioxide, among others. Brominated compounds accompany polystyrene consumer products to provide fire_x000D_
proof properties to meet UL or CSA fire resistance requirement. However, many of these compounds are now_x000D_
banned. Lavergne Group is a major Canadian company that recycles polymers but they must remove the_x000D_
banned compounds. Together we will develop technology to scavenge the brominated compounds to meet_x000D_
federal requirements. Removing these compounds reduces the burden of polystyrene to municipal landfills but_x000D_
will maintain their supply of feedstock for their customers as they have a viable business operational._x000D_
We will first measure the thermal properties of the polystyrene in a thermogravimetric analyser. This data will_x000D_
identify the temperature range to conduct reactor tests to scavenge the bromine compounds. In the next step, we_x000D_
will heat the polystyrene in a fluidized bed reactor and monitor the gas product composition. We will also_x000D_
condense the gases and analyse the aqueous phase in an HPLC analyser. Our GC-MS analyser will identify the_x000D_
compounds of the organic phase. The third step will identify absorbents that we can add directly into the_x000D_
fluidized bed to scavenge the brominated compounds or to add a post-treatment step to capture them., agreement title english : Polystyrene depolymerization: Scavenging brominated flame retardants, agreement title french : Polystyrene depolymerization: Scavenging brominated flame retardants, agreement number : EGP, agreement value : 24952.0, agreement start date : 2017-11-08, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019)., additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2018-2019)., owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada