Postconsumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/polyolefin blends through reactive processing

Abstract

Increasing awareness of environmental and energy problems has promoted greater governmental interest in selected waste collection and consequently has attracted the interest of several research groups to the challenge of converting recovered plastics into useful materials. The reactive blending of postconsumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with different polyolefins (PO) was studied in attempts to obtain a new material with enhanced properties with respect to the starting materials. The success of the project depends mainly on the possibility of obtaining a compatibilized blend between two starting polymers that, from chemical and thermomechanical viewpoints, are very different. This was approached by employing polyolefins bearing functional groups capable of specific interaction or chemical reaction with PET end groups. Ternary blends of very low density polyethylene (VLDPE)/PET/functionalized polyolefin (FPO) in a weight composition of 70/20/10 and binary blends of FPO/PET in a weight composition of 90/10 were prepared and studied to obtain reinforced polyolefin thermoplastic materials. Reactive blending was achieved in a Brabender Plastograph with a mixing chamber of 30 or 50 cm³, at 250°C, and 40 rpm for 10 min. Differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and tensile tests were used to investigate the phase behavior, the efficiency of compatibilization, and the mechanical properties of the blends.