Quantification of PP contamination in recycled PE by TREF analysis for improved the quality and circularity of plastics

Polyethylene constitutes more than one-third of the world's plastic and is one of the main components in municipal waste streams. Unfortunately, varying amounts of polypropylene (PP) are usually found in recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE), which erodes their mechanical properties and reduces the quality of these recyclates and their possible reuse in the industry. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is the technique commonly used to detect and determine the presence of PP in these blends, but intrinsic limitations of this method lead to inaccurate results. Thus, alternative techniques must be employed to solve these drawbacks and help to estimate more accurately the levels of the PP impurities in rHDPE. In this work, crystallization techniques, such as Temperature Rising Elution Fractionation (TREF) is used to fractionate PE and PP blends into their components to obtain quantitative information. Municipal waste samples of rHDPE contaminated with different amounts of PP have been characterized by DSC and TREF. Comparative results of both techniques show an underestimation of PP values when DSC is used as analytical technique. Results prove that TREF analysis irrespective of the crystallization rate used is valid for the identification and quantification of PP impurities in rHDPE samples, even at low PP percentages in the blend lower than 2 wt. %, which could help to control the quality of rHDPE and achieve the priority of reusing and recycling adopted by the European Union for a Circular Economy of Plastics.

Automated summary

This study investigates quantitative analysis methods for polypropylene impurities in recycled high-density polyethylene. It finds that Temperature Rising Elution Fractionation (TREF) is more accurate in identifying and quantifying PP impurities, reducing underestimation of PP content compared to Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC).