Recycling effects on the rheological and thermomechanical properties of polypropylene-based composites

As recycled materials are increasingly used in design of structural components, it is necessary to understand the effect of recycling on the properties and durability of these materials. In this work, the recycling effects on two high impact polypropylenes (HiPP) are studied. The recycling process was simulated by performing several extrusion runs with the same material in order to get a better understanding of the multi recycling effects. These effects were identified not only on the molecular weight and the rheological properties but also on the mechanical properties and the deformation mechanisms. The volume strain has been also measured as a damage indicator in the studied polymers. For both materials, the analysis of the different results showed that the rheological and the mechanical properties were affected by the thermomechanical recycling process. In particular, this process led to the decrease of the molecular weight, the decrease of the failure stress and the decrease of the impact energy. Moreover, Scanning Electronic Micoscopy (SEM) pictures showed a modification of the deformation process due to the embrittlement of the amorphous matrix by the chain scission and by cavitation. Moreover, a better stability for talc filled HiPP was observed but a decrease of the failure stress was obtained because the interfaces talc/polypropylene (PP) matrix and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) droplets/PP matrix were degraded. Indeed, the knowledge of the molecular characteristics as well as the rheological and mechanical properties of recycled polymer-based composites will help in optimizing the recycling process for obtaining the desired properties needed to correctly design recycled structural part. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.