Scopus İndeksli Yayınlar Koleksiyonu / Scopus Indexed Publications Collection

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/7148

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  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 3
    Citation - Scopus: 3
    A Viability Study of Thermal Pre-Treatment for Recycling of Pharmaceutical Blisters
    (Mdpi, 2024) Gokelma, Mertol; Diaz, Fabian; Capkin, Irem Yaren; Friedrich, Bernd
    Pharmaceutical packaging is one of the most used packaging types which contains aluminum and plastics. Due to increasing amounts of waste and rising environmental concerns, recycling approaches are being investigated. Since blisters usually contain a balanced amount of plastics and metals, most of the approaches focus on recycling only one material. Therefore, more sustainable recycling approaches which recover both plastic and aluminum fractions are needed. This study investigates the thermal behavior and degradation mechanisms of plastic-rich and aluminum-rich pharmaceutical blisters using various analytical techniques. Structural characterization revealed that plastic-rich blisters have a thicker profile with plastic and aluminum layers, while aluminum-rich blisters consist of plastic layers between aluminum sheets. Thermal degradation analysis showed two main stages for both types: plastic-rich blisters (polyvinyl chloride) exhibited significant weight loss and long-chain hydrocarbon formation between 210 and 285 degrees C, and aluminum-rich blisters (polyamide/nylon) degraded from 240 to 270 degrees C. Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analyses confirmed the endothermic behavior of such a transformation. The gas emissions analysis indicated an increased formation of gasses from the thermal treatment of plastic-rich blisters, with the presence of oxygen leading to the formation of carbon dioxide, water, and carbon monoxide. Thermal treatment with 5% O2 in the carrier gas benefited plastic-rich blister treatment, reducing organic waste by up to 80% and minimizing burning risk, leveraging pyrolytic carbon for protection. This method is unsuitable for aluminum-rich blisters, requiring reduced oxygen or temperature to prevent pyrolytic carbon combustion and aluminum oxidation.
  • Review
    Citation - WoS: 10
    Citation - Scopus: 14
    A Review on Characterization and Recyclability of Pharmaceutical Blisters
    (Elsevier, 2023) Capkin, Irem Yaren; Gokelma, Mertol
    Packaging is one of the biggest sectors in the world and the use of aluminium is widespread in the packaging industry. Pharmaceutical blister packages generate a significant amount of solid waste, typically containing plastics and aluminium as thin layers. Since these packages have a complex structure with multiple layers, they are hard to recycle. A separation process of the plastic and aluminium is needed prior to recycling. Hydrometallurgical or thermal processes can be used for the separation. This work reviews the characterization of different types of blisters and the different reagents used in the separation process of the blister layers. Parameters and results of separation processes by using hydrochloric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, organic solvents, and phosphoric acid were discussed as well as the thermal degradation.