Production of Epoxy Composite from the Pyrolysis Char of Washed PET Wastes

Pyrolysis of washed poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) plastic wastes was performed, pyrolysis products yields were determined and epoxy composite was prepared with char additive in this study. The pyrolysis runs were carried out in the temperature range of 300-700 degrees C in order to indicate the effects of pyrolysis temperature on products. The char from pyrolysis was used in the production of epoxy composite material and char replaced at 10 to 50 wt% of the epoxy resin. Mechanical properties, namely tensile strength, surface hardness and electrical properties were determined for the epoxy composite materials. The tensile strength increased 131% at the dose of 50% for char obtained at 300 degrees C. The hardness was improved up to 83-89 shore D from 80 shore D by the PET char additive in the composite. Epoxy composite material obtained by PET pyrolysis char additive obtained at 300 degrees C showed the better behavior in terms of elongation at break and tensile strength. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd