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Treatment of SMC Composite Waste for Recycling as Reinforcing Fillers in Thermoplastics
Author(s) -
Perrin Didier,
Leroy Eric,
Clerc Laurent,
Bergeret Anne,
LopezCuesta JoséMarie
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
macromolecular symposia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-3900
pISSN - 1022-1360
DOI - 10.1002/masy.200550323
Subject(s) - thermosetting polymer , polypropylene , materials science , sheet moulding compound , composite material , composite number , calcium carbonate , unsaturated polyester , filler (materials) , glass fiber
Needs for recycling thermoset composite materials are considerably increasing. Unfortunately, such materials are particularly difficult to recycle due to their crosslinked nature. In this paper, we focus on the case of Sheet Moulding Compounds (SMC), which consist of an unsaturated polyester filled with glass fibres and calcium carbonate. We consider the possibilities of mechanical treatments allowing to obtain ground fractions that could be used as fillers for the reinforcement of thermoplastics. Two processes are described and compared with an existing industrial one. Finally, optimised fractions of SMC waste are introduced into polypropylene, leading to promising results in term of mechanical properties.