Thermal Degradation of DVD and CD Disks with Vegetable Cooking oil

Abstract

Waste DVD and CD disks were thermally degraded at 450 °C by a semi-batch process. 40 – 50 wt% of waste DVD and CD disks were converted into liquid product that consisted of phenol derivatives (~ 75 wt%), bisphenol (~10 wt%) and its derivatives as well as small amounts of aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, dimethylbenzene, methylethylbenzene, diethylbenzene or methylisopropyl benzene. Degradation of polycarbonate in DVD and CD disks was enhanced by co-processing with vegetable cooking oil whose degradation gave a homologue series of hydrocarbons and organic acids with up to 25 and 18 atoms of carbon respectively. Silver in DVD and CD disks remained in solid residue.