Stability of ABS compounds subjected to repeated cycles of extrusion processing

Abstract

In this work, poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS) was subjected to five subsequent extrusion cycles and the effect of prolonged exposure to heat and shear stresses on its structural and performance properties was investigated. More specifically, the resulting chemical changes were studied by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the thermal response was recorded on differential scanning calorimetry thermographs, whereas the thermal stability of reprocessed samples was detected with thermogravimetric analysis. Also, the rheological properties of the aforementioned compounds were investigated via melt flow index tests, to assess their processability during melt mixing and molding processes. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the obtained composites were investigated and the observed interactions were interpreted in terms of the influence of each component on the functional properties of the final mixture. This attempt might be a contribution to recycling of ABS by means of techniques that include multiple reprocessing.

Recovery of recycled acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene, through mixing with styrene–ethylene/butylene–styrene

“…Its main advantage is the good relationship between price and performance, although the presence of a polybutadiene phase brings certain problems when it is submitted to various processing cycles, either by injection or extrusion. The studies carried out by Bai et al (2007), Boronat et al (2009), Karahaliou and Tarantili, (2009) and Perez et al (2010) clearly demonstrate this. Nearly all studies in this area highlight the crosslinking phenomena as the cause of the variation in properties that takes place (loss of ductility).…”

Recycling Polymer Blends

“…Usually, the recycling of these materials causes only slight changes of the mechanical properties unless a high number of reprocessing cycles (more than 10) is applied (Scaffaro et al 2012;Brennan et al 2002;Kim and Kang 1995;Boldizar and Moller 2003;Bai et al 2007;Karahaliou and Tarantili 2009;Arnold et al 2009;Boronat et al 2009;Pérez et al 2010). However, adding r-ABS to virgin ABS causes different outcomes depending on the property, on the number of reprocessings, and on the amount of r-ABS of the blend.…”

The Effect of Extrusion Reprocessing on Structure and Properties of Isotactic Poly(propylene)

“…However, recycling by melt reprocessing may give rise to thermal, thermo-oxidative or thermo-mechanical degradation that may affect the structural parameters of polymers and, subsequently, the end use properties of the products. [1,2] Poly(propylene) (PP) is an important commodity plastic, used extensively for packaging consumer goods. With increasing use, the amount of discarded packaging material in the waste stream is also increasing.…”