Utilizing the Cotton Candy Mechanism to Produce Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Wool

Abstract

Plastics are commonly used for everyday use, examples are for groceries and garbage disposal. The rising problem on plastics are still a problem as only 7% of plastics are being recycled, the rest are going to the landfills. The main objective of this study is to produce synthetic wool from plastic bags for an easier way to recycle low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic bags and lessen the waste by using the cotton candy machine with ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) as additives.LDPE plastics and EVA additives were weighed according to its ratio. Each ratio was put in the heating plate of the cotton candy machine. The product was collected using a stick and weighed again for the comparison of its previous mass. The product was rated according to its appearance. The pure LDPE didn’t produce any product. The use of EVA added flexibility of the plastic. Results showed a flaky product rather than wool which was far from the expected outcome. It pattered to stringy flakes. The more EVA, the more similarity to woolthe product was. The results were then analyzed using one-way ANOVA and post hoc analysis. Although the product wasn’t the expected outcome, the continuation of this study is advisable with the use of different plastic with a similar molecular structure as sugar. The product can be used to turn into powder for the production of plastic pellets to be a raw material.