Investigation of Halogen Content in Used Polystyrene for Home Appliance Goods

Abstract

In Japan, some household electric appliance companies (HEAC) have made the changeover to Non-Halogen (Deca-Bromo-Diphenyl-Ether (DBDE) ) as a flame retardant agent in the plastic compounds for new types of Television Cabinets (TV-C) . Most recycled plastic compounds generated at HEAC recycling factories however, still contain used DBDE from the old type TV-Cs (manufactured before 2000) . It is, therefore, rather difficult for HEAC to use these compounds as recycled materials for use in the new type TV-C in Japan.
Due to this reason, because of restrictions on recycling use and from the point of view of cost, most of these recycled compounds containing DBDE are exported overseas, mainly to China, as black color compounds. According to traders in the recycling field, once DBDE contaminated compounds are exported overseas, it is possible that they are being mixed with virgin black color compounds and then being exported back to Japan again as a material for black resin used in video cassettes, etc. In light of this information, the chemical composition of the samples to be sold at a general-volume sales store in Japan were investigated.
As a result of this investigation, both bromine and antimony were detected in the major HEAC-labeled video cassettes made in China; bromine was also detected in other general home appliances as well. In this paper, problems in the recycling process with regard to the recovery of waste plastic are pointed out.