Compression Molded Thermoplastic Composites Entirely Made of Recycled Materials

Petri Sormunen and Timo Kärki
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Petri Sormunen: Fiber Composite Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, LUT University, P.O. Box 20, 53850 Lappeenranta, Finland
Timo Kärki: Fiber Composite Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, LUT University, P.O. Box 20, 53850 Lappeenranta, Finland

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Recycled post-consumer high-density polyethylene pipe plastic was agglomerated into composite samples with wood, glass fiber, mineral wool, gypsum, and soapstone as recycled particulate fillers. The tensile strength, tensile modulus, impact strength, and hardness were the mechanical properties evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy was performed on the broken surfaces of tensile strength samples to study the interfacial interactions between the composite matrix and the filler materials. Heat build-up, water absorption, and thickness swelling were the physical properties measured from the composites. The addition of particulate fillers demonstrated the weakening of the tensile and impact strength but significantly improved the rigidity of the post-consumer plastic. The composites filled with minerals had mechanical properties comparable to compression molded wood plastic composites but higher resistance to moisture. A lack of hot-melt mixing affected the mechanical properties adversely.

Keywords: composites; recycling; mechanical properties; physical properties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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