INS11-0626
Sustainable Strategies for the Functional Upcycling of Polystyrene Using Ball-Mill Grinding
Topic
S11. PMSE–PSK50 Anniversary Symposium: Advancing Polymer Science for a Sustainable and Intelligent Future
When and Where
Sep 30, 2026
10:45 - 11:10
Room 110
Session Chairs
Tae Hee HAN
Presenter(s)
Gregory Peterson (Incheon National University)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Functional upcycling is a process that converts waste plastics into new functional polymer products with useful properties. In this presentation, we present our recent efforts toward the functional upcycling of polystyrene using ball-mill grinding. Mechanochemical approaches improve sustainability by enabling fast and efficient reactions and eliminating or reducing the amount of solvent. We will discuss the development of Birch reduction and chloromethylation reactions to produce functional polystyrenes and synthetic intermediates for waste-derived materials with distinct properties from polystyrene. Reaction optimization, scope, scale-up, and mechanisms will be also described. These results demonstrate the potential of ball milling as a sustainable platform for transforming polystyrene waste into value-added materials.
