Properties of Recycled-Polyethylene Terephthalate/Polycarbonate Blend Fabricated by Vented Barrel Injection Molding

Abstract

In this research, recycled-polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polycarbonate (RPET/PC) blends fabricated by vented barrel injection molding were presented to better understand the effect of devolatilization during molding process. The effect of dried pellets, non-dried pellets, using an opened-vented hole, and using a closed-vented hole on the miscibility, morphology, thermal properties and mechanical properties of RPET/PC blends was investigated. The results indicated that no drying decreases dispersion, thermal properties, and mechanical properties of RPET/PC blends due to hydrolysis degradation of recycled-PET during the injection molding process. Using the venting system with non-dried RPET/PC blends partially improves dispersion, thermal properties and molecular weight of RPET/PC blends processed without drying, giving results that are similar to those processed with drying. Regarding the flexural properties, using the venting system without drying prevents the flexural properties from decreasing in RPET/PC blends, if the amount of RPET is less than 75 wt%. When the content of RPET is over 75 wt%, using the venting system does not eliminate the decrease in flexural properties of RPET/PC blends. When the venting system is applied to non-dried RPET, despite hydrolysis degradation of RPET not being completely eliminated, the damaging effects are nonetheless reduced compared with those samples processed without the venting system. As a result, vented barrel injection molding hardly prevents non-dried RPET/PC blends from having reduced flexural properties when the content of RPET is greater than 75 wt%.

Selective Chemical Upcycling of Mixed Plastics Guided by a Thermally Stable Organocatalyst

“…One option to mitigate the problems associated with the downcycling process of mechanical recycling, is to blend it with other polymers. One of the polymers that considerably enhances the properties of recycled PET is Bisphenol A‐based polycarbonate (BPA‐PC), a commodity thermoplastic which is around 1 % of the global plastic production [24–26] . Although this option allows a second life for these polymers, it only postpones their disposal or incineration as the obtained blend is highly difficult to recycle further either by mechanical or chemical means.…”

Tensile properties of glass fiber reinforced polypropylene composite and its carbon fiber hybrid composite fabricated by direct fiber feeding injection molding process

“…Tensile strength does not increase when fiber content is over 23.3 wt% due to poor orientation and distribution of glass fibers . W. Thodsaratpreeyakul et al (2016) studied the effect of fiber tex on the mechanical properties of glass fiber reinforced RPET composites produced by the DFFIM process .…”

Effects of thermoplastic poly(ether-ester) elastomer and bentonite on properties of recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate)

“…The excessive production and consumption inevitably causes a large volume of PET scrap and waste accumulations both in factory and municipal waste, imparting much concern associated with the environmental pollution due to its nonbiodegradability and very high atmospheric durability. [2][3][4]6,10 To mitigate this solution, mechanical recycling is highly recommended because of the ecological and economic advantages. 2,3,5,10 Although recycled PET (R-PET) is one of the most highly used for plastic recycling, but it is not suitable for reproducing water or beverage bottles.…”