Enhanced mechanical properties of recycled blends acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene/high-impact polystyrene from waste electrical and electronic equipment using compatibilizers and virgin polymers

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) are currently constituted by a considerable fraction of polymers, mainly acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and high-impact polystyrene (HIPS). Despite the increasing interest for ABS and HIPS recycling from WEEE, some factors, such as intrinsic mixture between polymeric components, are barriers to the advancement of the polymeric WEEE recycling. In present study, ABS and HIPS from WEEE were combined each other and with virgin ABS and HIPS in presence of the compatibilizers styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) and styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene/styrene-ethylene-butylene (SEBS/SEB), generating recycled ABS/HIPS blends in different compositions. The materials were evaluated by mechanical tests, morphological analysis, dynamic-mechanical-analysis, and melt flow rate. The presence of compatibilizers SBS and SEBS/SEB affects significantly the morphological structure of ABS/HIPS, changing the shape and size of the dispersed phases of styrene-acrylonitrile or polystyrene, which leads to modifications of the mechanical properties of the materials. The presence of virgin polymer in the blends also affects the material morphology. Thus, ABS and HIPS waste from WEEE can be recycled as ABS/HIPS blends and their mechanical properties controlled by use of compatibilizers SBS and SEBS/SEB and incorporation of virgin polymers, avoiding processes for segregation of the polymers during mechanical recycling.

Automated summary

The study found that ABS and HIPS from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) can be recycled as ABS/HIPS blends, with the mechanical properties controlled by using compatibilizers and incorporating virgin polymers, avoiding the need for polymer segregation during mechanical recycling.