Investigation and characterization of dielectric, thermal, and chemical properties of recycled high‐density polyethylene blended with virgin polyethylene

Abstract

AbstractDielectric performance of post‐consumer recycled HDPE blended with virgin HDPE was investigated to evaluate the possibility of using these materials for the insulation of electrical wires and cables. The presence of organic and inorganic impurities was investigated using thermal and chemical methods (TGA, DSC, and EDX). The characterization of impurities revealed different amount of inorganic impurities in recycled material that was depending on the execution of melt filtration by the recycler to prepare the recycled material. Higher values of both dielectric losses and dielectric constant were observed for post‐consumer recycled PE, with the dielectric loss of recycled material almost 17 times higher than the one of virgin PE at power frequency (60 Hz). The short‐term breakdown strength of post‐consumer recycled HDPE was observed to be slightly lower than that of virgin PE. The experimental result showed that blending the recycled stream with virgin materials was effective in order to enhance dielectric properties of recycled material. In this regards, dielectric losses decreased by almost 50% when 50% of virgin HDPE was added to the recycled material. In addition, breakdown strength was improved when virgin HDPE was added.