From Waste to Value Added Products: Manufacturing High Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Composite from End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Waste

Abstract

The use of plastics in automobiles is increasing dramatically due to their advantages of low weight and cost-effectiveness. Various products can be manufactured by recycling end-of-life vehicle (ELV) plastic waste, enhancing sustainability within this sector. This study presents the development of an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield that can be used for protecting electronic devices in vehicles by recycling waste bumpers of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber from ELVs. EPDM waste was added to a unique combination of 40/60: PP/CaCO3 master batch and conductive nanofiller of carbon nanotubes using an internal melt mixing process. This nanocomposite was highly conductive, with an electrical conductivity of 5.2×10−1S·cm−1 for 5 vol% CNT in a 30 wt% EPDM/70 wt% PP/CaCO3 master batch and showed a high EMI shielding effectiveness of 30.4 dB. An ultra-low percolation threshold was achieved for the nanocomposite at 0.25 vol% CNT. Waste material in the composite improved the yield strain by about 46% and strain at break by 54% in comparison with the same composition without waste. Low cost and light-weight fabricated composite from ELV waste shows high EMI SE for application in electronic vehicles and opens a new path to convert waste to wealth.