Recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) as dye adsorbent : a mini-review

Abstract

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has become one of the most major post-consumer plastic waste, in addition to poly(ethylene), poly(propylene), poly(styrene) and poly(vinyl chloride). PET bottles are mostly used in packaging of drinking and mineral water as well as soft drinks. This review demonstrates the potential of PET waste as a value added product in dyes adsorption application. Dyes are known to affect human health, aquatic life and the overall ecosystem in adverse way. They need to be removed from wastewater, hence the technologies utilized for such removal are widely investigated. The review presents the different preparation techniques to produce adsorbent from PET waste. Besides that, it discusses the adsorption capacities among the PET adsorbents prepared. Based on the review, it can be concluded that activated carbon produced from PET waste has the potential to be an effective adsorbent for dye adsorption.