Characterizing plastics containing brominated flame retardants with combined LIBS and Raman spectroscopy

Abstract Waste electronic and electric equipment (WEEE) are collected in high amounts in the EU. However, in order to enable safe and effective recycling of their plastic fraction, harmful additives inside the plastics need to be identified. In this study, two spectroscopic methods, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and Raman spectroscopy were employed for characterizing different brominated flame retardants (BFRs) inside plastics from the actual WEEE stream, and also lab-made plastics. The results of this preliminary study indicate the ability of LIBS for accurate quantification of bromine content, and the prospective capability of Raman and combined Raman-LIBS for identifying different BFRs in plastics.