Influence of the percentage of recycled material on the mechanical properties of low-density polyethylene,polyethylene terephthalate,and polyvinyl chloride

Abstract

The aim of this article was to fabricate virgin polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, and low-density polyethylene blended with their corresponding recycled material in different ratios of virgin/recycled via injection molding and to evaluate their tensile strength, impact fracture, and hardness behavior. Raman spectroscopy was used to qualitatively study the characteristics of the recycled material in comparison with the virgin material. The impact testing method was the Charpy impact test, and for the hardness measurement, the shore D hardness method was used. The tensile tests were performed following the ATSM 683 standard. Scanning electron microscopy was used for chemical analysis and imaging to confirm the presence of contaminants.

Keywords

Low-density polyethylene polyethylene terephthalate polyvinyl chloride recycled polymer mechanical properties

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Mohammadzadeh

. Characterization of recycled thermoplastic polymers. MSc thesis, University of Boras, Borås, Sweden, 2009.

Javierre

Clavería

Ponz

Aísa

Fernández

. Influence of the recycled material percentage on the rheological behaviour of HDPE for injection moulding process. Waste Manag 2007; 27: 656–663.

Arnold

Maund

Isaac

. The mechanical properties of recycled PVC bottle compounds. J Mater Process Technol 1996; 56: 475–481.

Torres

Robin

Boutevin

. Study of thermal and mechanical properties of virgin and recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) before and after injection molding. Eur J Polym 2000; 36: 2075–2080.

Basto

. Mechanical characterization of aged recycled polymers and applications. Msc Thesis, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 2002.

Ávila

Duarte

. A mechanical analysis on recycled PET/HDPE composites. Polym Degrad Stab 2003; 80: 373–382.

Bertin

Robin

. Study and characterization of virgin and recycled LDPE/PP blends. Eur J Polym 2002; 38: 2255–2264.

Strapasson

Amico

Pereira

MFR

Sydenstricker

THD

. Tensile and impact behavior of polypropylene/low density polyethylene blends. Polym Test 2005; 24: 468–473.

Brachet

Hoydal

Hinrichsen

Melum

. Modification of mechanical properties of recycled polypropylene from post-costumer containers. Waste Manag 2008; 28: 2456–2464.

10.

Martins

De Paoli

MA.

Polypropylene compounding with recycled material I. Statistical response surface analysis. Polym Degrad Stab 2001; 71: 293–298.

11.

Meran

Ozturk

Yuksel

. Examination of the possibility of recycling and utilizing recycled polyethylene and polypropylene. Mat Des 2008; 29: 701–705.

12.

Meijer

HEH

Govaert

. Mechanical performance of polymer systems: the relation between structure and properties. Prog Polym Sci 2005; 30: 915–938.

13.

Baumann

. Plastic pipes made of recycled plastic. Technol Law Ins 1998; 3(3): 209–211.

14.

Lipik

Abadie

MJM

. Polyethylene terephtalate chemical recycling in the melted state. Polym Plast Technol Eng 2007; 46(7): 695–701.

15.

Siddique

Khatib

Kaur

. Use of recycled plastic in concrete: a review. Waste Manag 2008; 28: 1835–1852.

16.

Ortega

. Prueba de impacto: ensayo Charpy. Rev Mex Fís E 2006; 52(1): 51–57.

17.

Fisher

Wallner

Pieber

. Spectroscopical investigation of Ski base materials. In: Wilhelm

(ed) Modern Polymer Spectroscopy. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH, 2008, pp. 28–36.

18.

Bower

Maddams

. The characterization of polymers. In: Davis

Ward

(eds) The Vibrational Spectroscopy of Polymers. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1989, pp. 162–226.

19.

Lampman

Mechanical behavior and wear. In: Lampman

(ed) Characterization and Failure Analysis of Plastics. Materials Park, OH, USA: ASM International, pp. 183–282.

20.

Stuart

. Polymer crystallinity studied using Raman spectroscopy. Vib Spectr 1996; 10: 79–87.

21.

Melveger

. Laser-Raman study of crystallinity changes in poly(ethylene terephthalate). J Polym Sci Part A-2 1972; 10: 317–322.

22.

De Moura Giraldi

ALF

Cardoso de Jesus

Innocentini Mei

. The influence of extrusion variables on the interfacial adhesion and mechanical properties of recycled PET composites. J Mat Process Technol 2005; 162–163: 90–95.

23.

Nishikida

Coates

. Infrared and Raman analysis of polymers. In: Lobo

Bonilla

(eds) Handbook of Plastics Analysis. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker Inc, 2003.

24.

Ram

. Behavior of polymers. In: Ram

(ed) Fundamentals of Polymer Engineering. New York, NY: Plenum Press, 1997, pp. 58–99.