Intending to expand the thermo-physical properties of bio-based polymers, furan-based thermoplastic polyesters were synthesized following the melt polycondensation method. The resulting polymers, namely, poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF), poly(propylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PPF), poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF) and poly(1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PCHDMF) are used in blends together with various polymers of industrial importance, including poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) (PEN), poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) and polycarbonate (PC). The blends are studied concerning their miscibility, crystallization and solid-state characteristics by using wide-angle X-ray diffractometry (WAXD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized light microscopy (PLM). PEF blends show in general dual glass transitions in the DSC heating traces for the melt quenched samples. Only PPF–PEF blends show a single glass transition and a single melt phase in PLM. PPF forms immiscible blends except with PEF and PBF. PBF forms miscible blends with PCHDMF and PPF, whereas all other blends show dual glass transitions in DSC and phase separation in PLM. PCHDMF–PEF and PEN–PEF blends show two glass transition temperatures, but they shift to intermediate temperature values depending on the composition, indicating some partial miscibility of the polymer pairs.

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Pyrolysis is an environmentally friendly method, which is often used for the recycling of the plastics included in waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE); since secondary valuable materials can be produced. Brominated ame retardants (BFRs) are usually added into these plastics to reduce their ammability; but they are toxic substances. The aim of this work is to examine the thermal behaviour and the products obtained after pyrolysis of polymer blends that consist of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), high-impact polystyrene (HIPS), polycarbonate (PC) and polypropylene (PP) with composition that simulates real WEEE; in the absence and presence of a common BFR, tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), in order to investigate its effect on pyrolysis products. Blends were prepared via the solvent casting method and the melt-mixing in an extruder; it was revealed that the latter method may be a better choice for blends preparation, since it didn't affect the products obtained. The chemical structure of each polymeric blend was identi ed by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Thermal degradation of the blends was evaluated by thermogravimetric (TG) experiments performed using a thermal analyser (TGA) and a pyrolyser for evolved gas analysis (EGA). It was observed that blends had a similar behaviour during their thermal degradation; and in most cases, they followed a one-step mechanism. Pyrolysis products were identi ed by the pyrolyser combined with a Gas Chromatographer/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS); and comprised various useful compounds, such as monomers, aromatic hydrocarbons, phenolic compounds, etc. that could be used as chemical feedstock. Furthermore, it was found that TBBPA affected products' distribution by enhancing the formation of phenolic compounds and on the other hand by resulting in brominated compounds, such as dibromophenol.

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