Optimization of Waste-Derived Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (r-PET) Nanofiber Production via Box-Behnken Design

Öz

Upcycling waste plastics demands strict process control. Here, post-consumer r-PET flakes dissolved in a trifluoroacetic acid/dichloromethane (TFA/DCM) solvent system were processed into sub-micron fibers using needle electrospinning. A three-factor, three-level Box-Behnken design (BBD) coupled with response surface methodology mapped how polymer concentration (10–15 wt%), solution feed rate (0.5–1.9 mL/h), and nozzle geometry (18–22G) govern average fiber diameter (AFD). The resulting quadratic model fit the experimental data remarkably well. It accounted for 99.88% of process variance (R2 = 0.9988, F-value = 473.60, P<0.0001) alongside a non-significant lack of fit (p = 0.1034). Polymer concentration exerted the strongest control over fiber thickening. Crucially, flow rate coupled with needle size (p = 0.0130), reflecting a coupled electro-hydrodynamic effect specific to the viscoelastic rheology of the r-PET solution. Numerical optimization (D = 1.000) targeted minimal fiber thickness, identifying ideal coordinates at 10.00 wt% concentration, 1.07 mL/h feed rate, and a 22G nozzle tip. This combination predicted an AFD of 209.52 nm. Bench tests performed in triplicate confirmed these predictions, producing uniform, bead-free nanofibers with a mean diameter of 218 ± 42 nm. A minimal 3.89% deviation verifies the practical accuracy of the model, establishing a batch-consistent quantitative baseline for bottle-derived r-PET filtration substrates.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Recycled PET
• Nanofiber
• Needle electrospinning
• Box-Behnken design
• Process optimization
• Desirability function

Etik Beyan

Ethics committee approval was not required for this study because of there was no study on animals or humans.

Kaynakça

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