TY  - JOUR
T1  - Sulfonated plastic waste: A solution for water hardness reduction
AU  - Patel, Bina
AU  - Patel, Minjal
AU  - Lad, Isha
PY  - 2025
DA  - June
Y2  - 2024
DO  - 10.35208/ert.1498026
JF  - Environmental Research and Technology
JO  - ERT
PB  - Mehmet Sinan Bilgili
WT  - DergiPark
SN  - 2636-8498
SP  - 245
EP  - 254
VL  - 8
IS  - 2
LA  - en
AB  - This study focused on the utilisation of waste plastic as an ion exchanger to reduce water hardness. The three identical glass columns R1, R2, and R3 were used, each containing different types of waste plastic resin, such as styrofoam resin (SR), air bubble plastic resin (AR), or a mixture of both resins (MR), respectively. The plastics underwent a sulfonation process after crushing and sieving; their sulfonation was confirmed using FTIR analysis. For lab-scale experiments, each glass column was filled with sand, gravel, and coconut fiber as supporting media and equipped with a pump and flow-control valves. Groundwater collected from an urban area was passed through the columns at different flow rates and contact times. The process takes place by exchanging the Na+ ions of resins with polluting ions present in hard water. The treatment parameters involved are total hardness, calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, chloride, TDS, and pH. During the treatment process, pH was maintained between 7 and 8.5. All the parameters were tested twice, and the average of the observations was noted. The results showed that the maximum total hardness reduction achieved in reactors R1, R2, and R3 was 63%, 52%, and 58.6%, respectively, at a contact time of 24 h.
KW  - Air bubble plastic resin
KW  - ground water
KW  - hardness
KW  - styrofoam resin
KW  - waste plastic
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UR  - https://doi.org/10.35208/ert.1498026
L1  - https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/3991690
ER  -