Research

Project
By: Jordan Casto, Gunnar
Hynden, Ruthie Ibeji, Tom
Cohen, Allulu AlSaeed
November 28, 2023
Mohammed Alnadhairi
Chem 151 Lab 2G
Introduction

❏ The purpose of this experiment is to apply

behaviors within the fluid to separate a mixture
of four separate plastics (HDPE, PP, PETE, and
PS) and contaminants.

❏ We are going to apply these findings to develop

a method for separating each type of plastic
individually from our unknown sample S93T.
 Exploration of Contaminant
Removal
Mass of Dried
Mass of Ethanol Volumes (multiple columns Description of Sieving Contaminant
Trial Assigned are provided for trials run with Method and the Results Free
UNKNOWN multiple small extractions) When Implemented UNKNOWN
Fragments

1 .248 g 3mL 3mL 3mL .237

Suck out ethanol with a
2 .245 g 2mL 2mL 2mL pipette, dry off the .231
remaining plastic pieces,
and let dry
3 0.25 1mL 1mL 1mL .245

Percent Contaminant Removal =

Trial 1:
The best results were from the 2nd trial. The weight
(.248g-.237g )/ .248g *100 = 4.435%
of the plastics from the 2nd trial decreased the most
Trial 2:
after the ethanol rinse, which resulted in a high
(.245g-.231g)/.245g *100 = 5.714%
percent contaminant removal percentage.
Trial 3:
(.25g-.245g)/.25 *100 = 2%
 Exploration
Density Behavior

PETE HDPE PP PS

NaCl (5mL) Sink Float Float Float

NANOpure (5mL) Sink Float Float Sink

Ethanol (5mL) Sink Sink Sink Sink

Team Proposal, Plan 1
● Known Mixture:
○ PP solution:
■ 6.9 g
■ 8 mL
■ Density- 0.8625 g/mL
○ HDPE solution:
■ 6.2 g
■ 6.5 mL
■ Density- 0.954 g/mL
○ PS solution:
■ 10.4 g
■ 9 mL
■ Density- 1.15 g/ mL
● Separation occurs at Step 3
● Step 7 was modified for 3 mL water
and 7 mL ethanol in order to
complete separation
 PETE HDPE PP PS

NaCl Sink Float Float Float Observations and Results

(5mL)

NANOpur Sink Float Float Sink

e (5mL)
- Through testing of the known
plastics we find that PETE sinks in
Ethanol Sink Sink Sink Sink everything, PS sinks in water and
(5mL) Ethanol, and HDPE & PP only sink
in ethanol.
- Through this information we can
separate PETE, and PS.
- To separate HDPE & PP we had to
calculate a mixture of water and
ethanol so that we could separate
the two plastics.
- Looking through the different
densities of mixtures between
water and ethanol we concluded
that a 50/50 split would be good.
- Based on the results of the known
plastics the flow chart was on the
right track.
Extra pictures if needed
 Team Proposal, Plan 2

Step 1) Weigh 1g of our unknown and put into a 20 mL graduated cylinder

Step 2) Add 6 mL of ethanol to remove contaminants from the unknown (Do 3 rinses of 2
PP solution
6.9g mL ethanol and 0.25 g unknown then use pipette to remove ethanol) and separate plastics
8mL into their own vials depending on density
Density = .8625g/mL
Step 4) Add 10 mL of NaCl, this will separate PETE from the rest of the substances (PP, PS,
HDPE solution HDPE) and extract PETE with pipette
6.2g
6.5mL Step 5) Add 10 mL of H2O to separate PS from the rest of the substances (PP, HDPE) and
Density = .954 g/mL extract PS
PS solution Step 6) Add 3 mL of water and 7 mL of ethanol to separate the 2 remaining substances (PP
10.4g and HDPE)
9mL
Density = 1.15 g/mL Step 7) Weigh all leftover isolated plastics to find out how much of each was in the
UNKNOWN
Step 8) Identified unknown plastic fragments with neutral buoyancy
 Observations and Results
● 3 rinses of 2mL ethanol worked
best (5.7% Contaminant Removal)
● Plastic colors do not correlate to
plastic type
● Sometimes bigger pieces didn’t
float/sink correctly until stirred
● To separate HDPE & PP we needed
3 ml of water and 7 ml of ethanol,
not 5mL and 5mL

PS PETE HDPE PP
 Observations and Results Part 2
PP HDPE PS

6.9g 6.2g
8mL 6.5mL 10.4g
Density: Density: 9mL
0.8625g/mL 0.954 g/mL Density: 1.15
g/mL

Neutral Buoyancy Observations: Went Well NOT went well

PP 0.8625g/mL - Color doesn’t correlate to plastic - The results - Cutting pieces

- Very specific amounts for
HDPE 0.954 g/mL neutral buoyancy - Cleaning - Need easier way to
PS 1.15 g/mL
extract plastic pieces
in cylinder
 HDPE
PP
Density:
Density:0.862
Proof of Concept
0.954 g/mL
5 g/mL

1. POC #1:
a. Proof of Concept provided by using 3 rinses of 2 mL of
ethanol to properly clean the plastics from contaminants
2. POC #2:
a. Based on the results of buoyancy to the right, a known
solution of 3 mL water and 7 mL ethanol was used to
separate the plastics. The proof of concept was met based
on the confirmation of the proposed density based
separation of the plastics
3. During this experiment, the amount of ethanol presented was
thoroughly able to clean the plastics. Based on the buoyancy
PS results we are able to confirm the following densities of the
Density: 1.15 plastics. These density determined which plastic oriented in the
g/mL separation solution of 3 mL water, 7 mL ethanol in order to fully
separate HDPE from PP. This project was successfully able to
provide the Proof of Concepts.
4. Further experiments could include:
a. Testing ethanol’s cleaning success by running different
types of dirt/contaminants.
b. Introducing different liquids to test density based on
buoyancy results
c. Testing different types of materials density in the proposed
solution,
i. Aluminum, wood, styrofoam
 Uncertainties and Summary

In this experiment, we removed contaminants from the assigned

unknown, and we separated the known substances (PETE, HDPE, PP, and
PS) by testing density behavior in different liquids. This caused the
known substances to either float or sink, depending on the liquid and
enabled a separation. With our unknown substance we used the neutral
buoyancy to identify them and calculated solution density.

Major Findings:
➔ Densities of each substance/Natural buoyancy:
PP: 0.8625g/mL, HDPE: 0.954 g/mL, PS: 1.15 g/mL
➔ Identification of each substance

No uncertainties