Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2021
26th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
Evaluation of mechanical properties of mixtures of virgin and recycled High-Density Polyethylene
Submission Author:
LEONARDO PEREIRA DE PAULA , MG
Co-Authors:
Victor Abdo Hallack, LEONARDO PEREIRA DE PAULA, Artur Caron Mottin, Lucas Vasconcelos Moreira, Rodrigo Freire
Presenter: Victor Abdo Hallack
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2021.COB2021-1897
Abstract
The application of polymers in several sectors of the global economy has progressively grown in recent decades, especially in the development of novel products, owing to their high strength, low weight and low cost. Nevertheless, most polymers are traditionally obtained from naphtha, a colourless and volatile compound derived from the oil refining process, with deep environmental impacts. High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is one of the most used naphtha-derived polymers in industrial applications, and, thus, a large amount of this material is inappropriately discarded. However, HDPE recycling has been used as an effective alternative method to reduce the environmental impacts caused by the continuous extraction and indiscriminate use of oil. However, the recycling process degrades the mechanical properties of the polymer due to contamination, prior exposure to harsh environments, and the breakage of polymeric chains. This study evaluates the mechanical properties of polymeric mixtures composed of different virgin/recycled HDPE mass fractions: 100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 and 0/100. The materials were melted at 130°C, using a recycled mono-screw extruder, built from parts of disabled machines and scrap (metal sheets and bars), and the specimens were made using the thermo-pressing technique. The samples were tested under tensile loads using a universal testing machine (EMIC DL-20000). The mechanical properties investigated were the modulus of elasticity, yield strength, tensile strength, strength and elongation to failure and tensile toughness. The results reveal that the incorporation of 25% in mass fraction of recycled HDPE does not significantly reduce the mechanical properties of the virgin polymer, with a decrease ranging from 1.26% (in yield strength) to 6.31% (in toughness), which represents a reduction in costs of 4.51%. These findings corroborate the available literature and highlight the potential of this manufacturing strategy to produce sustainable materials with good mechanical properties. Therefore, recycling is a viable, sustainable strategy to reduce the volume of inappropriate material disposal and environmental impacts, reduce production costs, and preserve natural resources.
Keywords
HDPE, polymer, Recycling, Tensile Test
