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Effect of the particle size and acid pretreatments on compatibility and properties of recycled HDPE plastic bottles filled with ground tyre powder
Author(s) -
Colom X.,
Cañavate J.,
Carrillo F.,
Suñol J. J.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.29611
Subject(s) - materials science , particle size , composite number , high density polyethylene , composite material , ultimate tensile strength , natural rubber , scanning electron microscope , polyethylene , izod impact strength test , chemical engineering , engineering
With the growing emphasis on decreasing the accumulation of the used tyres in land fills, there has been significant scientific and technological interest to provide with solutions to their recovery and reuse. A new composite material based on reused tyre powder as reinforcement and recycled high‐density polyethylene as matrix was studied in this work. The effect of chemical acidic pretreatments performed on the rubber and of the particle size on the behavior of the composite material were evaluated. Powder of reused tyres resulting from industrial grinding processes was separated by sieving in three particle size categories: below 200 μm, between 200–500 μm and over 500 μm. Pretreatments using H 2 SO 4 , HNO 3 , or a 50% mix of H 2 SO 4 and HNO 3 were carried out over the rubber before composite preparation. Mechanical tensile properties were evaluated to determine the effect of particle size and acid pretreatments on composite properties. Fracture surfaces of composite samples were also evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. Overall, all pretreatments improve the mechanical behavior of the obtained materials. This improvement is attributed to the development of a surface of the rubber, more suitable for mechanical adhesion. The effect of the particle size has a stronger influence in the properties of the material than the acidic pretreatments. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009