Table 2. Effect of polymer morphology and density on hydrocarbon gas production from polyethylene.
| Source/Product # | Polyethylene category | Morphology | Density (g cm-3) |
CH4 (nmol g-1d-1) |
C2H4 (nmol g-1d-1) |
C2H6 (nmol g-1d-1) |
C3H6 (nmol g-1d-1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sigma 42078 | LLDPE | Pellets | 0.918 | NS | NS | NS | NS |
| Marflex 1017 | LDPE | Pellets | 0.917 | 0.08 ± 0.02 | 0.35 ± 0.18 | 0.19 ± 0.03 | 0.29 ± 0.10 |
| Marflex 1122 | LDPE | Pellets | 0.920 | 0.12 ± 0.02 | 0.16 ± 0.21 | 0.07 ± 0.03 | 0.18 ± 0.14 |
| Sigma 428043 | LDPE | Pellets | 0.926 | 0.31 ± 0.04 | 0.86 ± 0.09 | 0.10 ± 0.01 | 0.65 ± 0.06 |
| Sigma 427799 | LDPE | Flakes | 0.906 | 2.2 ± 1.1 | 3.2 ± 1.9 | 1.3 ± 0.8 | 2.5 ± 1.3 |
| Sigma 427772 | LDPE | Powder | 0.920 | 55 ± 4 | 21 ± 2 | 13 ± 1 | 36 ± 5 |
Mean production rates of hydrocarbon gases from different polyethylene products of different densities and morphologies exposed to ambient solar radiation for 14 days. Relevant information regarding the polymers is also included in the table: the source and product number, the polyethylene category, the morphology of the product and the density at 25°C. The error represents the standard deviation of triplicate samples.
NS: final concentrations were not significantly different from those in the control treatment (t-test, P>0.05).