Selective flotation separation of plastics by chemical conditioning with methyl cellulose

The floatability of seven plastics (POM, PVC, PET, PMMA, PC, PS and ABS) in the presence of methyl cellulose (MC) and separation of plastics mixtures were investigated in this paper. It was found that the seven plastics can be separated into three groups by using the wetting agent MC. Group one includes POM and PVC. They are depressed at very low MC concentrations. Group two, including PET, PMMA and PC, has an intermediate floatability. Group three (ABS and PS) has a high floatability. They are almost not depressed within the given MC concentration range. In order to understand the mechanism of selective flotation of plastics and the chemical conditioning process, surface chemical factors, such as wettability of plastics and surface tension of flotation medium, and gravity factors, such as particle density and shape, were studied. It was found that the depressing effect of MC on plastics is ascribed mainly to its adsorption on the plastics surfaces. The MC molecules absorbed on plastics expose some of their polar groups oriented towards the aqueous phase, hence making the plastics surfaces hydrophilic. In addition, flotation selectivity for the plastics is dominated not only by wettability of plastics, but also by particle size, density and shape.