Injection Moulding and Mechanical Properties of Recovered Polypropylene

Abstract

Abstract This work is a part of a study aiming at assessing the processability of recovered polypropylene in relation to the mechanical and aesthetic performance of as-manufactured and heat aged mouldings. The effects of processing and heat ageing on the mechanical properties of injection-moulded recovered polypropylene were studied here. A similar grade of virgin polypropylene was used as a reference. Multipurpose test specimens were manufactured with a two-cavity mould, according to decoupled moulding procedures. The mouldings were aged at 100°C for 170 h and 340 h. The stiffness, the strength, the elongation at break and the Charpy impact resistance of as-moulded and heat-treated materials were investigated. The results show that the recovered polypropylene could be processed as the analogous virgin grade. Insignificant changes in the measured properties due to the different filling conditions were observed for each polypropylene used. The stiffness and strength of the recycled polypropylene was systematically 20% lower than that of the analogous virgin grade, whereas the impact resistance of the recycled grade was on average 40% higher than that for the virgin grade. There was no significant difference in the elongation at break of the two materials. After the short ageing period, an increase in stiffness and strength of the materials was observed, together with a sharp decrease in the elongation at break and a modest increase in the impact resistance. This was related to re-crystallisation. The long ageing period reduced the stiffness and strength of the materials but there was no significant change in the elongation at break or in the impact resistance.