pps proceeding - Abstract Preview
pps proceeding
Symposium: S04 - Injection Molding and Molds
Poster Presentation
 
 

Effect of Talc Size on Recycled PET Injection Moldings

Yamada Kazushi (1)*

(1) Kyoto Institute of Technology - Kyoto - Japan

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is widely used for synthetic fiber, beverage, food and other liquid container and so on, which constitutes a large portion of post-consumer wastes. In the present day, the volume of the PET bottle products greatly increased. For example, the annual volume of consumption of PET drinking bottle in Japan was 338,654 tons in 2000. However in 2008, a 50% increase in volume to 520,120 tons was recorded. Therefore recycling of PET bottles offers a very practical solution to reduce landfill waste and therefore preventing environmental problems. Neat PET is known to possess high elastic modulus, strength and toughness. However, recycled PET (RPET) is more susceptible to impact loadings and have lower heat distortion resistance. In order to enhance its toughness, impact modifiers are often incorporated into RPET. In our previous work, the notched impact resistance of RPET was significantly enhanced when a polyethylene-glycidyl-methacrylate (E-GMA) based impact modifier was incorporated. However, this led to deterioration in stiffness and yield strength of the material. Furthermore, the material would deform easily even when exposed to temperatures of around 50ºC. In order to improve the stiffness and heat distortion resistance of the material, talc, which is a popular mineral filler typically used with polypropylene, was incorporated into RPET in this study. The effects of talc loading and these engineering thermoplastics on the heat distortion temperature, fracture behavior and static and dynamic mechanical performance of the composites were elucidated. As a result, these blends exhibited significantly higher stiffness and strength especially with increasing E-GMA, and it was found that talc played an important role in enhancing the heat resistance of RPET. Moreover, it was found that the mechanical and thermal properties of RPET blends with engineering thermoplastics depend on the kind of engineering thermoplastics and component ratio.