Waste to Treasure: Preparation of Functional Polymeric Particles from Waste Olefins in Carbolic Oil by Self-Stabilized Precipitation Polymerization

Carbolic oil is a fraction of coal tar with an enormous reserve, 40% of which are aromatic olefins such as indene, coumarone, styrene, etc. However, it is an underutilized r esource due to the lack of deep processing technology. In this study, we copolymerized olefins in the carbolic oil with maleic anhydride (MAh) by self-stabilized precipitation polymerization (2SP) method, to obtain uniform carbolic oil–maleic anhydride copolymer (CMA) particles with high yield (≥90%). Uniform CMA particles with a number-average molecular weight (Mn) in the range of 4400–24,100 g·mol–1 and particle sizes in the range of 150–2800 nm could be conveniently obtained by tuning the reaction factors. CMA exhibited good solubility in common organic solvents and possessed good thermal stability. After chemical modification of anhydride groups, CMA could be further converted into water-soluble carbolic oil–maleamic acid copolymers (CMAA), and heat-resistant and hydrophobic carbolic oil–maleimide copolymers (CMI). Overall, this research had provided a facile and green strategy for the effective utilization of waste olefins in carbolic oil, and the obtained copolymers had broad application prospects.

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