Optimizing the photodegradation process of low-density polyethylene using Taguchi's robust statistical design

The present study employs the Taguchi statistical design for optimizing the photodegradation process of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films by varying five significant parameters i.e., catalyst loading (%), exposure time (in days), pH, size of the films (cm x cm), and temperature (℃), simultaneous...

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Main Authors: M.S.S.R. Tejaswini, Pankaj Pathak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Next Materials
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949822825000802
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author M.S.S.R. Tejaswini
Pankaj Pathak
author_facet M.S.S.R. Tejaswini
Pankaj Pathak
author_sort M.S.S.R. Tejaswini
collection DOAJ
description The present study employs the Taguchi statistical design for optimizing the photodegradation process of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films by varying five significant parameters i.e., catalyst loading (%), exposure time (in days), pH, size of the films (cm x cm), and temperature (℃), simultaneously to determine the maximum photodegradation on LDPE. The physiochemical, morphological, and molecular structural changes were observed in all-nanocomposite (LDPE and catalyst samples) before and after degradation. One way-ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) results demonstrated that catalyst loading, and exposure time were the most influential factors and contributed 65 % and 25 %, respectively to determine the degradation rate. Further, a kinetic study was performed to determine the photo-degradation rate, and it follows first-order photo-kinetics model. The maximum photodegradation was observed for that LDPE sample that was loaded with 12 % catalyst with a pH of 6 at 45°C that was exposed to the UV light for 10 days in a photoreactor, it degraded most efficiently with a weight loss of 16.25 %. Additionally, recyclability studies confirmed that stability and reusability of TiO2 as a photocatalyst for carrying out degradation experiments upto three consecutive cycles. Moreover, there is a high co-relation between predicted and experimental data with R2> 0.96, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the prediction with the maximum degradation of LDPE film.
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spelling doaj-art-331afe1ef3294140b24db685c29b41a32025-08-20T02:55:13ZengElsevierNext Materials2949-82282025-07-01810056210.1016/j.nxmate.2025.100562Optimizing the photodegradation process of low-density polyethylene using Taguchi's robust statistical designM.S.S.R. Tejaswini0Pankaj Pathak1Department of Chemistry, Vignan’s Foundation for Science, Technology and Research, Vadlamudi, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh 522213, India; Resource Management Lab, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, SRM University AP, Andhra Pradesh 522240, IndiaResource Management Lab, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, SRM University AP, Andhra Pradesh 522240, India; Corresponding author.The present study employs the Taguchi statistical design for optimizing the photodegradation process of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films by varying five significant parameters i.e., catalyst loading (%), exposure time (in days), pH, size of the films (cm x cm), and temperature (℃), simultaneously to determine the maximum photodegradation on LDPE. The physiochemical, morphological, and molecular structural changes were observed in all-nanocomposite (LDPE and catalyst samples) before and after degradation. One way-ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) results demonstrated that catalyst loading, and exposure time were the most influential factors and contributed 65 % and 25 %, respectively to determine the degradation rate. Further, a kinetic study was performed to determine the photo-degradation rate, and it follows first-order photo-kinetics model. The maximum photodegradation was observed for that LDPE sample that was loaded with 12 % catalyst with a pH of 6 at 45°C that was exposed to the UV light for 10 days in a photoreactor, it degraded most efficiently with a weight loss of 16.25 %. Additionally, recyclability studies confirmed that stability and reusability of TiO2 as a photocatalyst for carrying out degradation experiments upto three consecutive cycles. Moreover, there is a high co-relation between predicted and experimental data with R2> 0.96, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the prediction with the maximum degradation of LDPE film.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949822825000802Low-density polyethyleneDegradationPhotocatalysisOptimizationAnalysis of variance
spellingShingle M.S.S.R. Tejaswini
Pankaj Pathak
Optimizing the photodegradation process of low-density polyethylene using Taguchi's robust statistical design
Next Materials
Low-density polyethylene
Degradation
Photocatalysis
Optimization
Analysis of variance
title Optimizing the photodegradation process of low-density polyethylene using Taguchi's robust statistical design
title_full Optimizing the photodegradation process of low-density polyethylene using Taguchi's robust statistical design
title_fullStr Optimizing the photodegradation process of low-density polyethylene using Taguchi's robust statistical design
title_full_unstemmed Optimizing the photodegradation process of low-density polyethylene using Taguchi's robust statistical design
title_short Optimizing the photodegradation process of low-density polyethylene using Taguchi's robust statistical design
title_sort optimizing the photodegradation process of low density polyethylene using taguchi s robust statistical design
topic Low-density polyethylene
Degradation
Photocatalysis
Optimization
Analysis of variance
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949822825000802
work_keys_str_mv AT mssrtejaswini optimizingthephotodegradationprocessoflowdensitypolyethyleneusingtaguchisrobuststatisticaldesign
AT pankajpathak optimizingthephotodegradationprocessoflowdensitypolyethyleneusingtaguchisrobuststatisticaldesign