Circular Economy Assessment in Recycling of LLDPE Bags According to European Resolution, Thermal and Structural Characterization

Author:

Ballestar Ricardo,Pradas Celia,Carrillo-Navarrete FernandoORCID,Cañavate JavierORCID,Colom XavierORCID

Abstract

According to the Circular Economy Package promoted by the European directive, plastic bags companies must use in their formulations a percentage of polyethylene waste (industrial and/or domestic) greater than 70%. Following that regulation requires an understanding of its consequences in the final product from an industrial point of view. This manuscript analyzes the thermal and morphological changes related to the tear resistance of linear-low density polyethylene (LLDPE) samples from industrial waste generated by the company Sphere Spain subjected to the degradation produced by the recycling cycles. The process is analogue to the industrial, starts from samples in pellets then a film by blow extrusion is obtained (odd steps) and posteriorly this film is recycled to pellets again (even steps). The results obtained show that the LLDPE samples develop two crystalline structures (CS1 and CS2) which evolve differently through the recycling cycles with a tendency to decrease in crystallinity due to degradation that is not the same for the process of obtaining film or recycling to pellet. The molecules with a more linear structure and a longer chain break and branch. The more branched structure increases and tends to crosslinking. This leads to a decrease in tear strength in the longitudinal direction, which is not so evident in the transversal direction. The samples could admit four recycling cycles with and acceptable tear resistance. The longitudinal tear strength value decreases by 40% for each film and 20% in the case of tearing in the transverse direction. The results obtained in this research work show that the regulations included in the cited circular economy package can be applied in the manufacture of consumer bags, helping also to reduce the dependence of manufacturers on fluctuations in delivery by collapses in shipping.

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Polymers and Plastics,General Chemistry

Reference32 articles.

1. A comprehensive review of global production and recycling methods of polyolefin (PO) based products and their post-recycling applications

2. European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 on Packaging and Packaging Wastehttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A31994L0062

3. Ellen Macarthur Foundation 2013 towards the Circular Economyhttps://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/Ellen-MacArthur-Foundation-Towards-the-Circular-Economy-vol.1.pdf

4. Mechanical and chemical recycling of solid plastic waste

5. Mechanical Recycling of Polymers for Dummieshttp://ubuntoo-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/blog_document/document/8/Mechanical_Recycling_of_Polymers_for_Dummies.pdf

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3