Separation of aluminum and plastic by metallurgy method for recycling waste pharmaceutical blisters

A hydrometallurgical method was employed for recycling waste pharmaceutical blisters (WPBs); leaching WPBs using hydrochloric acid solutions was conducted to separate aluminum from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic. The effects of temperature, hydrochloric acid concentration, reaction time, liquid/solid ratio and agitation on leaching behavior were investigated under fixed conditions, and the recovery of aluminum increases with an increase of the factors. Kinetic mechanism demonstrates leaching aluminum is controlled by chemical reaction control model, and the activation energy of leaching aluminum from WPBs is 87.24 kJ mol−1. Under optimal conditions, the recovery of aluminum is up to 100%, implying complete separation of aluminum and PVC is achieved. The purified PVC plastic was identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A flowsheet of recycling WPBs by hydrometallurgical method was designed, and economic analysis confirms the feasibility of recycling of WPBs using hydrometallurgical method that is a relatively environmentally friendly technique.