The present disclosure provides a process of recovering sulfopolyester comprising reduced impurity. Sulfopolyester is recovered from a composite material comprising water-dispersible sulfopolyester polymer and at least one non-water-dispersible polymer. The process includes washing the composite material comprising water-dispersible sulfopolyester with a solvent composition. The recovered sulfopolyester can be generated as a concentrated aqueous dispersion, a polymer melt, or a sulfopolyester solid.

A laminate is provided, which requires a shorter period of time for delamination thereof and hence is excellent in recoverability. The laminate includes a first outer layer, an intermediate layer, and a second outer layer which are disposed in this order. The intermediate layer contains a polyvinyl alcohol resin. A difference in water vapor transmission rate between the first outer layer and the second outer layer is not less than 100 cc.Math.30 μm/m.sup.2.Math.day, and the water vapor transmission rate of the first outer layer and the water vapor transmission rate of the second outer layer satisfy the following expression (1):

WVTR1<WVTR2  (1)

wherein WVTR1 is the water vapor transmission rate of the first outer layer and WVTR2 is the water vapor transmission rate of the second outer layer.

There are provided recycled polystyrene polymers having a melt flow index of less than about 25 g/10 min. There are provided processes for recycling polystyrene waste. The processes can comprise dissolving said polystyrene waste in p-cymene under conditions to obtain a polystyrene/p-cymene mixture, adding the polystyrene/p-cymene mixture to a hydrocarbon polystyrene non-solvent under conditions to obtain precipitated polystyrene and washing the precipitated polystyrene with additional portions of hydrocarbon polystyrene non-solvent under conditions to obtain twice-washed polystyrene. The twice-washed polystyrene can optionally be dried and formed into polystyrene pellets. There is also provided recycled polystyrene obtained from such processes for recycling polystyrene waste.

Method for recycling composite ropes, the method comprising a step of identifying (SO) the type of rope and at least one step of separating components comprising one or the other of the following steps /S1/,/S2/,/S3/,/S4/ as defined below: /S1/—a mechanical separation step, /S2/—a chemical separation step, /S3/—a thermal separation step, /S4/—a biological separation step and machine or installation for recycling composite ropes.

The invention pertains to a recycling composition comprising a lactam and/or a eutectic composition comprising a lactam and a eutecting agent.

A method for recycling polystyrene in a dissolution recycling process, in which method 1,3-dioxolane or isoamyl acetate is used as a solvent for dissolving polystyrene.

There are provided processes for recycling waste such as polystyrene thermoplastic polymer waste and/or polystyrene thermoplastic copolymer waste as well as recycled polystyrene thermoplastic polymer and/or recycled thermoplastic copolymer that may, for example, be obtained from such processes. The processes can comprise dissolving the waste in cymene, xylene or ethylbenzene or a suitable solvent, to obtain a mixture followed by heating the mixture under acidic conditions and then optionally neutral conditions in the presence of a reducing agent then cooling to obtain a supernatant comprising polystyrene thermoplastic polymer and/or polystyrene thermoplastic copolymer and a solid waste residue. The supernatant can optionally be treated with a filtration aid, then the supernatant can be contacted with a hydrocarbon polystyrene non-solvent under conditions to obtain precipitated polystyrene thermoplastic polymer and/or precipitated polystyrene thermoplastic copolymer which can be washed with additional hydrocarbon polystyrene non-solvent, and optionally dried and formed into polystyrene thermoplastic polymer pellets and/or polystyrene thermoplastic copolymer pellets.

The present invention relates to methods of producing polymer fibers and polymer fiber products and materials recovery from these processes. It is an object of this invention to produce polymer fibers and products that include these fibers using selective dissolution of multicomponent fiber and to recover the dissolved polymer and solvent for subsequent use.

Materials such as poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and lithium cobalt (III) oxide (LCO) are recovered and recycled from cathode films isolated from end-of-life batteries, including lithium-ion batteries. Cathode films are immersed in solution including N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N-methyl-2-pyrrolidine (NMP), a tetrahydrofuran (THF):NMP mixture, or a THF:DMF mixture. The solution is able to dissolve PVDF, which can then be separated from LCO and a conductive substrate component of the cathode films via alumina column separation. A PVDF product can be precipitated and recovered, while the LCO and conductive substrate can be recovered directly from the alumina column separator. Both the PVDF and LCO are of suitable quality for use in new cathode films. Such recovery is shown to be achievable even at low solid to liquid ratio during the dissolution process. Thus, economically feasible solvent-based recycling of battery cathodes is enabled to prolong the service life of cathode materials and reduce polymeric waste.

There are provided recycled polystyrene polymers having a melt flow index of less than about 25 g/10 min. There are provided processes for recycling polystyrene waste. The processes can comprise dissolving said polystyrene waste in p-cymene under conditions to obtain a polystyrene/p-cymene mixture, adding the polystyrene/p-cymene mixture to a hydrocarbon polystyrene non-solvent under conditions to obtain precipitated polystyrene and washing the precipitated polystyrene with additional portions of hydrocarbon polystyrene non-solvent under conditions to obtain twice-washed polystyrene. The twice-washed polystyrene can optionally be dried and formed into polystyrene pellets. There is also provided recycled polystyrene obtained from such processes for recycling polystyrene waste.