Wastes from Agricultural Silage Film Recycling Line as a Potential Polymer Materials

Abstract

The recycling of plastics is currently one of the most significant industrial challenges. Due to the enormous amounts of plastic wastes generated by various industry branches, it is essential to look for potential methods for their utilization. In the presented work, we investigated the recycling potential of wastes originated from the agricultural films recycling line. Their structure and properties were analyzed, and they were modified with 2.5 wt % of commercially available compatibilizers. The mechanical and thermal performance of modified wastes were evaluated by tensile tests, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. It was found that incorporation of such a small amount of modifiers may overcome the drawbacks caused by the presence of impurities. The incorporation of maleic anhydride-grafted compounds enhanced the tensile strength of wastes by 13–25%. The use of more ductile compatibilizers—ethylene-vinyl acetate and paraffin increased the elongation at break by 55–64%. The presence of compatibilizers also reduced the stiffness of materials resulting from the presence of solid particles. It was particularly emphasized for styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, which caused up to a 20% drop of Young’s modulus. Such effects may facilitate the further applications of analyzed wastes, e.g., in polymer film production. Thermal performance was only slightly affected by compatibilization. It caused a slight reduction in polyethylene melting temperatures (up to 2.8 °C) and crystallinity degree (up to 16%). For more contaminated materials, the addition of compatibilizers caused a minor reduction in the decomposition onset (up to 6 °C). At the same time, for the waste after three washing cycles, thermal stability was improved. Moreover, depending on the desired properties and application, materials do not have to go through the whole recycling line, simplifying the process, reducing energy and water consumption. The presented results indicate that it is possible to efficiently use the materials, which do not have to undergo the whole recycling process. Despite the presence of impurities, they could be applied in the manufacturing of products which do not require exceptional mechanical performance.

Comparative Analysis of the Coffee and Cocoa Industry By-Products on the Performance of Polyethylene-Based Composites

“…Figure 10 presents the course of thermal degradation of the composites, which was determined by the thermogravimetric analysis. It can be seen that the unfilled polyethylene shows one-step decomposition, with the onset at 444.6 °C and maximum decomposition rate at 486.8 °C, which is in line with the literature data [93]. Incorporating both types of fillers caused a substantial drop in the thermal stability of the composites; however, the deterioration was less pronounced at lower loadings.…”

One More Step towards a Circular Economy for Thermal Insulation Materials—Development of Composites Highly Filled with Waste Polyurethane (PU) Foam for Potential Use in the Building Industry

“…Table 3 and Figure 9 and Figure 10 present the results obtained from the analysis of the prepared materials using differential scanning calorimetry. The most significant peaks can be observed for polypropylene, the melting and crystallization temperatures of which were determined to be 166.5 °C and 115.5 °C, respectively, which is in line with the literature data [ 79 ]. The incorporation of blowing agents caused temperature shifts in the PP peaks, indicating changes in the crystalline structure.…”

Thermomechanical and Fire Properties of Polyethylene-Composite-Filled Ammonium Polyphosphate and Inorganic Fillers: An Evaluation of Their Modification Efficiency

“…Figure 4a,b presents the spectra of the unmodified polyethylene matrix and composites containing applied fillers. Spectra of unfilled PE show an appearance typical for polyolefins [34]. The most significant absorption bands were noted around 2847 and 2914 cm −1 and were associated with the symmetric and asymmetric stretching vibrations of carbon-hydrogen bonds in the backbone of polyethylene.…”

“…yolefins [34]. The most significant absorption bands were noted around 2847 and 2914 cm −1 and were associated with the symmetric and asymmetric stretching vibrations of carbon-hydrogen bonds in the backbone of polyethylene.…”