Recycling of thermoplastic polystyrene waste using citrus peel extract

for oil spill remediation

Shital Yadav,1 Srinadh Mattaparthi,1 Kuncham Sreenivasulu,1 Mudrika Khandelwal,2
Saptarshi Majumdar,3 Chandra Shekhar Sharma 1
1
Creative & Advanced Research Based on Nanomaterials (CARBON) Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute
of Technology, Hyderabad Kandi 502285, Telangana, India
2
Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad Kandi 502285,
Telangana, India
3
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad Kandi 502285, Telangana, India
Correspondence to: C. S. Sharma (E-mail: cssharma@iith.ac.in)

ABSTRACT: In this work, we report a low-cost, less energy intensive, and an innovative way of recycling thermoplastic polystyrene
(PS) waste objects into submicron, aligned fibers using extract from citrus peel, an agricultural waste. As-fabricated recycled PS
fabric is then structurally characterized and tested as an oil sorbent material. The hydrophobic-oleophilic PS fabric is found to
absorb 40.5
3.6 g/g of oil, with 77.3% oil retention within 1 h. To investigate the practical application of recycled PS fabric for
oil spills remediation, we tested its buoyancy properties in oil-over-water static and dynamic system besides examining their reus-
ability. The as-fabricated fabric floats on water after oil sorption indicating its high buoyancy and therefore can be collected easily
after soaking the oil. This work is a simple illustration of systematic analysis of recycling two different waste materials (thermo-
plastic polystyrene and citrus peels) and reusing them into a more valuable product. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci.
2019, 136, 47886.

KEYWORDS: citrus peel extract; fibers; oil spills remediation; polystyrene recycling

Received 29 December 2018; accepted 14 April 2019

DOI: 10.1002/app.47886

INTRODUCTION Besides the technical challenges, the poor economic viability of

Polystyrene (PS) is an integral part of global plastic market and is
highly valued thermoplastic.1 Its durability, strength, low cost,
and possible utilization as solid, film or foam1 make PS a popular
plastic. The major applications areas of linear and/or branched
PS and expanded PS (EPS) are packaging, construction, appli-
ances and electronics.1,2 The global demand for PS and EPS has
increased to 6.62 million tons in 20163; which is expected to fur-
ther grow to approximately 23.5 million tons by year 2020.4
Although PS has several advantages, its non-biodegradability is
creating considerable problem in waste management. Conven-
tionally, solid PS waste is either disposed in landfills or
incinerated,5 thereby severely affecting both health and environ-
ment. Further, EPS waste is particularly unmanageable due to
its low density and thus high volume. The recycling of PS waste
emerged as a potential alternative to disposal method leading to
the development of mechanical, chemical, and thermal
recycling.2,6 These methods are labor and energy intensive.
currently known recycling methods restrains the commercializa-
tion of such processes. According to a 2012 study, recycle rate
for PS was only 0.9% in USA.7
In this work, we present an innovative method to recycle linear
and/or branched PS waste, directly into sub-micron, aligned PS
fibers using extracts from peels of citrus fruits. The worldwide
annual citrus fruits production is more than 31 million tons, out
of which nearly 50% is waste in form of peel.8 Among the citrus
fruits such as orange, tangerine, kinnow, lemon, sweet lime, half of
the citrus fruit production comes from orange alone.9 It is also
processed to yield chemicals such as limonene, linalool, pectin, and
so forth.10,11 and is used in fragrance, cosmetics, cleansing agents,
and sometimes as solvents. However, the processes involved (distil-
lation, microwave heating) are highly energy consuming,11,12 as
compared to directly using its extract as reported here. Although,
we report direct use of orange, the recycling method proposed can
be extended to other citrus fruit peels as well. The process developed

Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article.

© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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ARTICLE WILEYONLINELIBRARY.COM/APP
to directly recycle waste thermoplastic PS into nonwoven fabric
using extract from citrus peel waste is clearly an illustration of novel,
green, low-energy, and cost effective scalable process. Moreover, the
fabric obtained is hydrophobic-oleophilic and therefore it can be
selectively used to absorb oil from water. We have demonstrated
the use of as-fabricated recycled PS for oil–water separations,
suggesting its applications in day to day household cleaning, waste
water treatment, and packaging to global requirement of oil spill-
age remediation.
EXPERIMENTAL SECTION
Orange Peel Extract Preparation
Oranges were purchased from the local market and washed to
remove dirt. The peel was removed using knife or simply by hand,
ensuring that the white layer present beneath the outer rind of peel
remains, to avoid breakage on folding. The peels were squeezed/
folded to extract a liquid from the outer rind of peel, which was col-
lected [Figure 1(a)] and named as primary extract (PE).
When the PE was allowed to settle, or centrifuged, it separates into
three layers, as shown in Figure 1(b). The top layer (TL) is orange
oil-rich layer, whereas bottom layer (BL) is water-based layer. The
middle layer (ML) constitutes of the solid particles from peel. These
layers are named according to their order from top to bottom,
which can vary with the type of citrus fruit considered.
Preparation of PS Solution
Thermocol/styrofoam (commercially available expanded PS) is used
for demonstrating recycling method. A 40% (w/v) of PS solution
was prepared by dissolving thermocol in PE at room temperature
using a magnetic stirrer while in TL from orange peel extract
(as described earlier), it was 35% (w/v). As EPS consists of more
than 70% air, lot of air bubbles are formed while dissolving. There-
fore, the solution is further desiccated under vacuum to remove all
the air bubbles and to obtain a clear solution.
Preparation of Recycled PS Fibers
The process designed to recycle PS into fibers is shown in
Figure 2. The setup mainly consists of one moving plate (plate-1),
a fixed plate (plate-2), and a hollow metallic frame of square shape
(1 ft × 1 ft) [Figure 2(a)]. The prepared solution is applied on
front surface of plate-2 and the plate-1 is made to move in forward
direction [Figure 2(b)]. Both the plates are kept in conformal con-
tact for 5 s [Figure 2(c)] in order to make sure that the solution
Figure 1. Primary extract from the orange peel (a) and different layers
after sedimentation of primary extract (b). [Color figure can be viewed
at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
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adheres to both the plates. The viscous solution gets stretched into
fibers, when plate-1 is pulled horizontally backward [Figure 2(d)].
Figure 2(d) shows the asfabricated recycled PS fibers, formed
between both the plates. The collector moves upward in vertical
direction and breaks the fibers between the plates [Figure 2(d-e)].
It then comes down to its original position with recycled PS fibers
collected on it [Figure 2(f)]. Above steps are repeated till the
desired thickness of fiber film is obtained. The digital photograph
of customized setup for above process is shown in Figure 2(g) while
Figure 2(h-i) shows the digital image of as-drawn recycled sub-
micron aligned PS fibers using PE and TL. Appearance of recycled
PS fabric from PE is little yellowish primarily due to the presence
of cellulosic particles in PE, while the fabric from TL is whitish. TL
is a clear solvent with no orange pigment in it.
As-fabricated recycled PS fibers were named depending on whether
the top layer or primary extract is used to dissolve the PS as pri-
mary extract-based fibers (PEF) or top layer-based fibers (TLF).
Electrospun PS Fibers
PS with weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 350 000 g/mol
was purchased from Sigma Aldrich. Dimethylformamide (DMF)
(99% purity) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) (99% purity) were pur-
chased from Merck India. A 14 wt % PS solution was prepared by
dissolving PS in DMF-THF solvent mixture of 70:30 at 50  C using
a magnetic stirrer. This PS solution in DMF:THF (70:30) was
electrospun in an automated electrospinning setup (Make: E-spin
Nanotech Pvt. Ltd. (India)). Size of the needle, applied voltage, and
the distance between the needle and the collector (Al foil) were some
of the process parameters that were optimized in this study to obtain
long, continuous, and uniform fibers. These parameters were as fol-
lows: 23G syringe needle, 12 kV applied voltage, and 8 cm distance.
All the experiments were conducted at room temperature. These
fibers were named as electrospun polystyrene fibers (ePSF).
Orange Peel Extract Properties
The electrical conductivity of TL and BL from orange peel extract
were measured using a conductometer (HI 2300 EC/TDS/NaCl
Meter, Hanna Instruments), while the surface tension was measured
by goniometer (Ramé-hart instrument co., Model 290 F4 series).
Further the viscosity of these two layers was measured by using
(Brookfield Viscometer DV-11+ Pro) viscometer. All these measure-
ments were conducted at room temperature and in triplicates.
To identify the various components in the top layer of the orange
peel extract (used for recycling of EPS), gas chromatography attached
with mass spectroscopy (Shimadzu, GCMS-QP2010 Ultra) was used.
The products were quantified by GC (Shimadzu, GC-2014) using
capillary column (ZB-5HT Inferno, Phenomenex) connected with
flame ionization detector. The following GC oven temperature pro-
gramming was used to obtain well resolved chromatogram: Initially
oven was kept at 50  C for 5 min followed by increasing it to 250  C
with a ramping rate of 20  C/min. Injector and detector were
maintained at 260 and 280  C, respectively. It was held at this tem-
perature for 5 min.
Structural and Thermal Characterization of Recycled PS Fabric
Recycled thermoplastic PS fabric (PEF and TLF both) were struc-
turally characterized and then compared with only PS-based
electrospun fabric (ePSF). The surface morphology was observed
J. APPL. POLYM. SCI. 2019, DOI: 10.1002/APP.47886
ARTICLE WILEYONLINELIBRARY.COM/APP
Figure 2. Schematic of various steps to recycle thermoplastic PS waste into fabric using orange peel extract (a-f); digital image of customized setup for these
processes (g); and as-drawn recycled PS fabric from PE (h) and TL (i). [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
using desktop scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (Pro-X
Model, Phenom world, Netherlands). All the samples were
sputtered with thin layer of gold before image analysis in SEM.
The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of PEF, TLF,
and ePSF was determined by N2 physisorption using Quan-
tachrome instruments v3.01. The weight of the sample was
100 mg. All samples were degassed at 80  C for 60 min in nitro-
gen. To know the surface functional groups present, PEF, TLF,
and ePSF were characterized by Fourier transform infrared
(FTIR) spectrometer (Bruker Alpha-P) in 500–4000 cm−1 range.
Further, X-ray diffraction patterns were recorded in scattering
angle range of 10 to 60 on PANalytical X-ray diffractometer
with CuKα radiation to study the crystallinity of the samples. To
determine the thermal stability of these fabrics (recycled PEF,
TLF, and ePSF), thermogravimetric analysis was carried out using
platinum pan in argon atmosphere (Pyris 1, Thermogravimetric
analyzer, Perkin Elmer). Sample weight varies from 5 to 10 mg,
and samples were heated from room temperature to 900  C at a
heating rate of 5  C/min.
Table I. Properties of Oils Used to Determine the Oil Absorption Proper-
ties of Recycled Thermoplastic PS Fabric
Properties Mustard oil Coconut oil
Viscosity 56.5 cP 17.24 cP
Density 0.9180 g/cm3 0.9260 g/cm3
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Wettability and Oil Sorption Properties of Recycled
Thermoplastic PS Fabric
Surface wettability of recycled thermoplastic PS fabric (PEF and
TLF) was measured using contact angle goniometer (Ramé-hart
instrument co., Model 290 F4 series) followed by image processing
of sessile drop with a DROP Image Advanced software. A drop of
DI water, 4 μL, was placed on the surface to form sessile drop using
a micro-syringe attached to the goniometer. The contact angles were
measured at least at three different parts of fabric and averaged.
To test the sorption properties of these recycled thermoplastic PS
fabric, two oils (mustard and coconut oil) with similar density
but different viscosity were selected as mentioned in Table I. To
test the maximum oil sorption by as-fabricated recycled PS fabric,
absorbency test was performed in only oil system. Approximately
0.2 g of sample was weighed and kept in glass beaker containing
100 mL of oil. The sample was taken out after 60 min and excess
oil was drained for 2 min. If initial weight of the sample is Wi
and weight after draining excess oil is W0, then the percent oil
absorption capacity (Q) of sample is given by:
 
ðW 0 − W i Þ
Q= × 100 ð1Þ
Wi
Further, oil retention test was done to study the retention capac-
ity of prepared material against gravity with respect to time. The
desorption rate of oil from sorbed fibers due to gravity was mea-
sured with respect to time, that is, weight loss from the sample
J. APPL. POLYM. SCI. 2019, DOI: 10.1002/APP.47886
ARTICLE WILEYONLINELIBRARY.COM/APP
was measured after 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 min, respectively,
using eq. (1).
For all samples, tests were repeated three times independently
and average values with standard deviation were calculated.
Reusability Test
The reusability of prepared fabric was measured to examine the
change in absorption capacity of fibers on subsequent reuse. The
sample was allowed to absorb oil similar to oil sorption test as
described above. Then the oil-sorbed fabric was squeezed by apply-
ing pressure and all the possible oil was removed. This sample was
allowed to absorb oil again for 60 min, and sorption capacity was
measured for this second cycle. This was repeated up to five cycles
and the difference in sorption capacity after five cycles was mea-
sured. For all samples, tests were repeated three times indepen-
dently and average values with standard deviation were calculated.
Bouyancy Test
Buoyancy test was done in both static and dynamic system. In
static system, 10 mL of oil was poured into glass beaker con-
taining 200 mL of water. About 0.3 g of fibers was carefully kept
on the surface. To simulate in dynamic system, a continuous stir-
ring (300 rpm) was maintained using magnetic stirrer, in addi-
tion to static system.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
An aromatic compound d-limonene, constituting about 93–95% of
orange oil,10 is a widely used natural solvent for PS dissolution.13,14
The solubility of extruded PS is reported to be 0.26 g/mL in d-limo-
nene.15 Interestingly, we found that the maximum solubility of EPS
in top layer of primary extract is 2.1 g/mL, almost ten times of that
in pure d-limonene. This higher solubility in TL is may be due to
the combined dissolution of EPS in other aromatic compound such
as γ-terpinene besides d-limonene present in TL as identified by
GCMS analysis (Supporting Information Figure S1) and also as
reported in the literature.15,16 Therefore, we believe that the direct
use of peel extract for PS recycling is advantageous due to (1) higher
solubility of PS, (2) simple extraction and therefore, (3) less solvent
cost as compared to using a particular chemical (such as d-limonene
or γ-terpinene) through cost intensive methods such as distillation.
Other properties like viscosity, surface tension, conductivity of TL
are also summarized in supplementary Table S1. The as-fabricated
recycled PS fabric from orange peel extract was then investigated for
its various properties, as discussed in next section.
Figure 3. SEM images of (a) PEF, (b) TLF, and (c) ePSF.
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Structural Properties of Recycled PS Fabric
Figure 3(a-c) shows the SEM micrographs for PEF, TLF, and ePSF,
respectively. Fibers drawn by recycling thermoplastic PS (PEF and
TLF both) are long, continuous, uniform, aligned in the direction of
drawing, and their diameter is in the range of 1–10 μm. However,
the ePSF are long, continuous, and uniform but are randomly
deposited as nonwoven fabric due to high level of instabilities gener-
ated in the fiber jet path. Average fiber diameter of ePSF (~550 nm)
was almost one order of magnitude less than that of as-fabricated
recycled PS fibers. This difference in the fiber diameter was also
apparent in the specific surface area values measured using nitrogen
adsorption isotherms. BET surface area of PEF was found to be
1.85 m2/g, while that of TLF was 3.24 m2/g. The less surface area of
PEF might be due to the merging of fibers in the presence of solid
cellulosic particles of ML. Moreover, the surface area of ePSF was
found to be 50.01 m2/g. This increase in surface area for ePSF is
due to reduced diameter of ePSF as compared to mechanically
drawn recycled PS fabrics (PEF and TLF).
In order to confirm the chemical composition of recycled thermo-
plastic PS fabric (PEF and TLF), we studied FTIR spectroscopy data
and X-ray diffraction pattern of as-fabricated fabric and compared
with ePSF. The FTIR analysis for PEF, TLF, and ePSF is shown in
Figure 4(a). The peaks at 1260 and 1280 cm−1 show symmetric
methylene stretching, while bending vibration of out-of-plane C H
bonds of aromatic benzene ring were observed at 698, 756 cm-1,
respectively. Few other peaks at 601, 1493, and 1452 cm−1 showed
aromatic ring breathing modes of benzene ring in PS. Also peaks at
3082, 3061, and 3027 cm−1 were observed for the aromatic C H
stretches of benzene ring. Thus, we observe that the peak positions
of PEF and TLF are identical to the ePSF. Furthermore, the compar-
ison of X-ray diffraction patterns [Figure 4(b)] of as-fabricated
recycled PEF and ePSF revealed the same broad amorphous peak at
2θ = 19.4 . These FTIR and XRD results confirm that TLF and PEF
are indeed made of PS, therefore both will be referred as PS fabric
in further discussion. The top layer (TL) and primary extract
(PE) solutions vaporized during the drawing process and forms this
recycled PS fabric.
Thermal Properties of Recycled PS Fabric
Thermoanalytical investigation using TGA was done to investi-
gate and compare the thermal stability of TLF, PEF, and ePSF,
which is shown in Figure 5. In case of PEF, initial weight loss of
6.9% between 40 and 180 is due to the elimination of volatile
components present in the fabric originated from PE. Second
stage of weight loss, from 180 to 320  C corresponds to thermal
J. APPL. POLYM. SCI. 2019, DOI: 10.1002/APP.47886
ARTICLE WILEYONLINELIBRARY.COM/APP
Figure 4. (a) FTIR analysis of TLF, ePSF, and PEF, (b) XRD analysis of ePSF and PEF. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
degradation of cellulosic particles of ML present in PEF. The
third stage of weight loss beyond 320  C is due to the degradation of
PS. While for TLF, since cellulosic particles of ML are not present,
there are only two stages 40-275  C and 275-400  C corresponding
to loss of volatile matter and degradation of PS, respectively. This
study suggests the use of recycled PS fabric even at elevated tempera-
ture. Unlike recycled PS fabrics, ePSF shows sharp degradation at
about 300  C to 0.6 wt % with zero char yield.
Wettability
Recycled PS fabric was tested for their wetting behavior as
shown in Figure 6. The water and oil contact angle were found
to be 126.4
8.60 and 00, respectively [Figure 6(a)]. This con-
firms that as-fabricated recycled PS fabric (both PEF and TLF) are
ultrahydrophobic and superoleophilic in nature. As shown in
Figure 6(b), water droplet remains on the top of the fabric surface
while oil is completely absorbed. Given this differential wetting
behavior of as-fabricated recycled PS fabric with respect to oil and
water, these fabrics were then tested for oil–water separation.
Oil Sorption and Retention Capacity
Figure 7(a) illustrates the oil sorption capacities of PEF and TLF in
comparison to ePSF. The oil sorption in a material can be due to
adsorption, absorption, capillary action, or their combination.17,18
Figure 5. TGA curve of TLF, ePSF, and PEF. [Color figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]
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In case of fibers, the mechanism is known to be mainly adsorption
and capillary action.18 Therefore, fiber properties such as diameter,
surface area, morphology, oleophilicity, and oil properties such as
density and viscosity play an important role in deciding the overall
sorption capacity of fabric.18 Here, the coconut oil sorption capac-
ity of PEF and TLF fabric was found to be 23.8
2 g/g and
30.7
0.4 g/g, respectively. Similarly, for mustard oil, the sorption
capacity is 12.9
1.8 g/g and 40.5
3.6 g/g for PEF and TLF fabric,
respectively. In case of PEF, the presence of particles of ML or merg-
ing of fibers restricts the movement of oil and as a result, the absorp-
tion capacity of PEF is 29 and 214% less than that of TLF for
coconut and mustard oil, respectively. This decrease for PEF fabric
can also be related to its less surface area as discussed above, com-
pared to TLF. Furthermore, the difference in sorption capacities of
PEF and TLF is more for mustard oil than that of coconut oil. This
can be attributed to low viscosity of coconut oil due to which it pene-
trate quickly and easily through the interior of fiber mat as compared
to mustard oil. Electrospun, ePSF, fabric showed about 58.80
2.6 g/g
sorption capacity for coconut oil and 57.25
11.44 g/g for mustard
oil. The high oil sorption capacity of ePSF is the result of high surface
area as discussed above. However, ePSF show similar absorption
capacity for both types of oil. This may be because of the difference
in oil absorption mechanism for PEF/TLF as compared to ePSF con-
sidering the size difference. Average diameter of PEF/TLF is few
microns where oil sorption is primarily due to capillary action while
for ePSF (submicron diameter and larger surface area), it is adsorp-
tion. Role of viscosity is more apparent in case of capillary action.
One of the most important property of sorbent material is its ability
to retain the liquid after absorption. Figure 7(b) represents retention
capacity of coconut oil from PEF, TLF, and ePSF. There was sudden
loss of oil from the sample in the first 10 minutes, that is, retention
decreases to 20.5
0.7, 26.8
0.1 and 46.7
2.4 g/g from their
respective sorption capacities measured at t = 0 (23.8
2, 30.7
0.4
and 58.8
2.6 g/g) for PEF, TLF, and ePSF, respectively. The percent
loss of oil is about 13.8, 12.9, and 20.6%, respectively, for PEF, TLF,
and ePSF in first 10 min [Figure 7(b’)]. After 1 h, loss of oil is about
35.4% for PEF, 25.2% for TLF, and 35.2% for ePSF.
When the retention behavior was studied with mustard oil, loss of
oil in initial 10 min was found to be 11.7
1.7, 31.5
1.2, and
47.2
7.6 g/g for PEF, TLF, and ePSF, respectively [Figure 7(c)].
J. APPL. POLYM. SCI. 2019, DOI: 10.1002/APP.47886
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Figure 6. (a) Water contact angle on recycled PS fabric (b) digital photo illustrating water and mustard oil behavior on recycled PS fabric. [Color figure can
be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

As observed from Figure 7(c), this loss in weight is equivalent to
9.4% for PEF, 22.2% for TLF, and 17.6% for ePSF. After 1 h, PEF,
TLF, and ePSF fibers still retained 77.3, 59.9, and 66.3% of mustard
oil, respectively [Figure 7(c’)]. Although, the sorption capacity of
ePSF is higher, as discussed above, the retention capacities of PEF
and TLF are comparable to ePSF.
Recently, many studies have been carried out using electrospun poly-
styrene nanofibers17,19–22 or nanofiber polystyrene composites18,23–25
for oil cleanup application. Recycled PS fabric as fabricated in this
work has comparative values to the reported literature as far as oil
absorption capacity and retention ability is concerned. However, the
ease of fabrication and low cost of raw (waste) material make
recycled PS fabric made in this work quite competitive with existing
commercial products.
Reusability of Recycled PS Fabric for Oil Absorption
Another measure for determining the efficiency of sorbent mate-
rial is its ability to be reused. For example, EPS have been directly
used as a sorbent material for oil spill in water but the EPS was
neither available for reuse nor the absorbed oil was recovered.26
Therefore, it was important to check the reusability of recycled
PS fibers. The sorption capacity of PEF and TLF were compared
in coconut and mustard oil for first and fifth cycle, respectively
[Figure 7(d)]. In case of PEF, for coconut oil, the sorption
capacity decreased from 23.8
2 g/g to 13.2
1.9 g/g and for mus-
tard oil, it decreased from 12.9
1.8 g/g to 9.4
0.8 g/g. This
decrease may be mainly attributed to the change in the fiber mor-
phology on compressing to squeeze out the oil from sample and
thus damaging the porous structure. Similar trend was obtained in
case of TLF. Absorption capacity decreased to 14.9
2.7 g/g and
11.4
0.9 g/g from 30.7
0.4 g/g and 40.5
3.6 g/g for coconut
and mustard oil, respectively. In other words, even after five cycles
of use, ~50% oil absorption capacity was retained for PEF while the
same was ~61% for TLF. However, there was a sudden decrease in
sorption capacity of ePSF and it did not soak oil in next cycle (data
not shown). Therefore, even though the sorption capacity of ePSF is
higher due to its large surface area, it is not really suitable for reuse,
limiting its practical applicability.

Figure 7. (a) Oil sorption capacity, (b-c) retention capacity (b’-c’) % retention of PEF, TLF, and ePSF respectively; (d) reusability of recycled PS fabric for
coconut and mustard oil. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

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Figure 8. Clean-up of mustard oil by PEF in static system (a-c) and dynamic system (d-f). [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Buoyancy Properties
For practical application, absorbent should not sink in the water
body after absorbing oil as a result of increase in its weight. We
anticipated that the sorbent will float on water surface before and
after absorption if buoyancy is high. In static system [Figure 8(a-c)],
PEF sample floats on the surface and keeps on sucking oil. After
30 min, PEF absorbs all mustard oil and still floats on surface,
suggesting its high buoyancy.
Similarly, in dynamic system, although there is continuous stirring
[Figure 8(d)], sample floats after absorption of oil [Figure 8(e-f)].
Therefore, PEF shows high buoyancy, mainly due to its hydropho-
bic and oleophilic nature. Similarly, TLF mat also showed high
buoyancy in both static and dynamic oil–water system, indicating
their potential use for oil–water system.
CONCLUSIONS
We have successfully recycled expanded PS waste into aligned
sub-micron PS fibers using orange peel extract as shown by FTIR
and XRD analysis. The as-fabricated recycled PS fibers showed
ultra-hydrophobicity and super-oleophilicity properties and there-
fore, tested for oil–water separation applications. They showed oil
sorption capacity upto 40.5
3.6 g/g with good oil retention
capacity over time. The recycled PS fabric exhibited high buoyancy
in oil-over-water system and interestingly, was able to maintain
nearly 50% oil sorption capacity even after five-cycles of reuse, in
contrast to electrospun PS fabric. Therefore, firstly, we are intro-
ducing a facile, inexpensive, scalable process to prepare new fabric
from two different waste sources and secondly, attempts were made
to utilize the recycled product for oil cleanup applications, which
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demonstrates green and energy efficient solution to current waste
management problems.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
CSS acknowledges the DST INSPIRE Faculty Grant and DST
TSDP Project under Waste Management program for financial
assistance.
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