pps proceeding - Abstract Preview
pps proceeding
Symposium: Recycling
Oral Presentation
 
 

Recycling of Cast Polyamide Waste on a Twin-Screw Extruder

Formisano Benjamino Rocco (1)*, Göttermann Svenja (1), Bonten Christian (2)

(1) Institut für Kunststofftechnik, Universität Stuttgart - Baden-Württemberg - Germany, (2) Institut für Kunststoftechnik, Universität Stuttgart - Baden-Württemberg - Germany

Cast polyamide 6 wastes are a high-quality material that is currently burned or recycled by adding it into new material of polyamide 6. In this work, cast polyamide 6 wastes shall be processed into an extrudable polyamide by compounding. Therefore, grounded cast polyamide scrap is processed with suitable additives on a twin-screw extruder. While literature demands energy recovery for polluted waste, it is possible to recycle this waste with this compounding method. While mechanical properties of pure cast polyamide 6 recyclates are near to those of new extrusion PA6, these can be changed by the use of additives. Rheological and mechanical analyses reveal that the used lubricant leads to higher viscosities and impact strength. Recyclates modified with an oxidant have higher grades of crystallinity, shown by DSC measurements, probably due to reduced molecular weights leading to easier crystallization. This higher crystallinity leads to a material with higher stiffness and tensile strength. Because of the shorter polymer chains, the viscosity of such a recyclate is also much lower, so that this material can be processed easily by injection molding. In such a manner it is possible to process cast polyamide waste together with additives to high-quality recyclates. The properties of those materials can be adjusted according to used process parameters or mechanical properties. In this way, a new adjustable polyamide type can be developed.