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This video is adapted from 10.3390/recycling8030046
Less than half of e-waste plastics are sorted worldwide, and this rate is likely to decline as major processing countries have banned importation of e-waste plastics. This forces the development of decentralized processing facilities, also known as microfactories. The video investigates the recyclability of different grades of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer, polycarbonate, and polypropylene, which were found to be very abundant in a recycling site in the UK. The determination of the matrix relied on the resin identification codes imprinted in the e-waste plastics and subsequent Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Melt-blend extrusion technology enabled the valorization of the wasted thermoplastics as 3D filament without significant degradation of the polymers. The recycled materials maintained the tensile strength at around 2.5 MPa in agreement with the specifications offered by virgin polymers. Further characterization was done by means of laser microscope, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray fluorescence to determine the commercial viability of the recycled filament.