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Compatibilisers | additives


Federation of Industrial Research Associations) and with the participation of member companies of PINFA, the association representing manufacturers and users of halogen-free flame retardants (HFFR). First results show that HFFR glass fibre reinforced PA 66 retains its flame retardancy and mechanical properties after simu- lated recycling steps, while HFFR polypropylene has to be processed very carefully in order not to reduce flame retardancy. PolyAd Services, recently acquired by BYK Additives


& Instruments, points to formulations that address what it says is a major and growing opportunity: recycling of polyamide-based carpet fibre for use in high perfor- mance applications. “The amount of used carpet fibre trucked to landfills each year in the US alone is amazingly large, yet the amount of such fibre that is recycled currently amounts to only a very small fraction of the total,” says Marketing Director Tom Pavilon. “In the States, about 1.7bn tonnes of carpet are disposed of annually, but only about 90,000 tonnes are recycled, with about half converted to engineered resins.” This abundance of such raw material for polyamide


compounders comes with a range of challenges, Pavilon points out, including contamination from a variety of impurities: polymers that make up the carpet backing as well as adhesives together with the various contaminants that settle in the carpet over time. This contamination, in which impurities can amount to as much as 15%, requires compatibilisation, while the stringent specifications for high performance end uses require re-stabilisation of the polyamide, Pavilon says.


Figure 4: Addition of Recycloblend 731 to a compound comprised of 20% glass, 30% virgin PA66 and 50% recycled PA from carpet fibres shows a significant improvement in impact strength Source: PolyAd Services


PolyAd Services’ Recycloblend 731 is a suitable


compatibilizer for this application. It is said to provide an aesthetic improvement while also re-stabilising the recycled polyamide, improving tensile strength by more than 20% at an addition rate of 1% even if the feed stream quality is not clean and dry (Figure 3). For glass fibre reinforced polyamide, Pavilon says


PolyAd has a second grade, Recycloblend 735. It provides an enhanced surface appearance and greater impact resistance (Figure 4) along with improved thermal stability and better lubrication. The product is available as a liquid concentrate for dosing at a level of 1.5% or adsorbed onto a solid carrier system for dosing at 2.5%.


Figure 5: As talc is inert it can be recycled indefinitely without losing its initial properties. The graph shows the effect of thermo-mechanical degradation from multi- pass extrusion on the MFI of neat PP compared with two talc filled grades. Source: Imerys


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


Waxes as processing aids At GreenMantra Technologies Technical Director Domenic DiMondo says its Ceranovus polyethylene and polypropylene waxes are cost-effective performance and processing aids for use with recycled plastics. “Syn- thetic waxes from virgin sources are commonly used as plastics processing aids, both for external lubrication and as dispersing agents for colour in masterbatch applications,” he says. “Plastics reprocessors, however, generally omit traditional wax additives due to chal- lenges in integrating the wax into the materials being recycled, cost, and the lowering of the end products’ percentage of recycled content.” The new waxes, which the company synthesises


from recycled plastics using its own-developed thermo-catalytic technology, are said to overcome these obstacles. “This is the first type of wax made with 100% waste polymers specifically designed for cost-effective use in plastics processing,” says DiMondo.


June 2017 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 49


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