Scanning electron microscopy study of light packaging waste from different countries

In the present paper different types of cellulosic and plastic waste (pure and commercial), from different EU countries (England, Italy and Romania) were investigated for microstructure surface morphology and chemical proprieties with the help of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS). The goal of the current investigation was to determine the chemical composition of selected packaging materials coming from different countries and compare these measurements with the data obtained through Carbon-Hydrogen-Nitrogen-Sulphur-Oxygen (CHNS-O) elemental analyzer, which is conventionally used to characterize waste materials. The capabilities of the experimental approach are discussed in connection with their application to the study of waste sample materials and in comparison with alternative experimental methods such as Elemental Analysis. The CHNS-O comparision is made between the present data obtained with SEM-EDXS instrument and EA 3000 elemental analyzer used in previews studies conducted by the authors.