Evaluation of rheological properties of virgin HDPE/recycled HDPE blends

In this study, the incorporation of a high density polyethylene (HDPE) resin in a virgin resin was assessed by means of its rheological properties with the use of shear steady, transient and dynamic flows using cone and plate and capillary rheometry. HDPE post-consumer packaging was collected and submitted to a basic process of plastic recovering: washing, grinding, and drying. The formulations had 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of recycled material added to the virgin resin, and were reprocessed by extrusion and injection molding with stabilization. From the rheological measurements it was concluded that the incorporation of the recycled material from post-consumer packaging to the virgin resin produced, in this case, a decrease in the molar mass and an increase in its distribution. Therefore, the rheological properties allow the prediction of the processing behavior of post-consumer recycled materials.