Solid-State Foaming of Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene/Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate Using Carbon Dioxide as a Blowing Agent

Abstract

In this study, a single paragraph of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)/recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) polymeric foams is prepared using CO2 as a blowing agent. First, the sorption kinetics of subcritical and supercritical CO2 are first studied at saturation temperatures from –20 to 40 °C and a pressure of 10 MPa, in order to estimate the diffusion coefficient and the sorption amount. As the sorption temperature increases, the diffusion coefficient of CO2 increases while the sorption amount decreases. Then, a series of two-step solid-state foaming experiments are conducted. In this process, a specimen is saturated with liquid CO2 and foamed by dipping the sample in a high-temperature medium at 60 to 120 °C. The effects of foaming temperature and depressurization rate on the morphology and structure of ABS/R-PET microcellular foams are examined. The mean cell size and the variation of the cell size distribution increases as the foaming temperature and the depressurization rate increases.