COMPATIBILISERS | MATERIALS
polarity and reactivity of these resins is key to successfully upcycle plastics wastes,” says Hauguel. Sukano, which specialises in additives and colour masterbatches for polyesters, biopolymers, and engineering resins, says it developed a new compatibiliser masterbatch that allows rPET to be blended into ABS, which would normally be incompatible, in response to a call from a customer wanting to give a second life to PET bottles col- lected from shorelines. The customer wanted to find a way to use the rPET in durable applications, such as kitchen appliances, which are typically made from ABS. The masterbatch contains active compo- nents consisting of a portion with chemical affinity to ABS and a portion which offers affinity to PET. Parts made from blends of ABS with 15% rPET have the same mechanical properties as 100% ABS. There are even benefits to the polymer blend, says Sukano: “Due to the presence of rPET, there is an increased gloss compared to 100% ABS parts, creating a premium look and feel on external parts. The additive masterbatch is also neutral in colour and can easily be combined with a colour masterbatch of choice, allowing the end application to stand out of the crowd. It offers designers greater freedom to apply the latest colour trends in the market.” Sukano has also carried out tests using recycled ABS in place of the virgin ABS. “The customer at this moment is using only rABS and rPET for this application,” says Onno Treur, Business Develop- ment Manager at Sukano. “The rABS comes from own production of other parts, but since the demand for the application is growing and therefore the demand for rABS is also increasing, the rABS from its own collection will soon no longer be sufficient.” Salvatore Monte, President of Kenrich Petro- chemicals, compares his company’s technology with rival technologies for recycling PCR: “In simple terms, there’s advanced recycling using depolymeri- sation and chemical techniques such as pyrolysis to remake virgin-like recycled polymers with known properties. The disadvantage is in the process, as it’s a chemical plant, it’s energy intensive, and focuses on narrow feedstocks such as PET and PP.” He continues: “There’s mechanical recycling that
relies on collecting, sorting, separating, cleaning, and size reduction of PCR to make a feedstock that is either baled, or granulated for making large parts such as furniture, or worked off at low percentages with virgin polymers. There are many issues such as: intrinsic polymer incompatibility of addition (olefins) and condensation (nylon, PC, PET) polymers; lower mechanical properties due to chain scissoring; negative impact property effects of fillers; etc.”
www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com
Recycled polymer blends with and without a Ken-React additive Source: Kenrich
Monte says Kenrich offers advanced mechanical
recycling using titanium chemistry of filler coupling and in situ polymer catalysis in the polymer melt causing repolymerisation rather like the titanate catalysts used to make condensation polymers and the Kaminsky metallocene and Ziegler-Natta catalysts used in the polymerisation of addition polymers. “Mechanical plastic recycling is complicated. For
example, HDPE used for milk bottles and PP in yogurt cups are both addition polymers in the olefin family. However, more than 5% PP in HDPE will cause delamination during injection moulding. Carpet fibre made from recycled PET bottles must be filled with CaCO3 to make commercial carpet having heft and wearability. 95% of worn-out CaCO3/PET carpet is considered a contaminant in PET recycling and goes to landfill.” To test the efficacy of titanate catalysts, recyclate
from LLDPE from a fractional melt film, PP copoly- mer from mixed 20-35 MFI injection moulded caps, and PET from thermoformed clamshell food packaging were prepared and mixed in a Brabend- er Plasticorder at the University of Waterloo Chemical Engineering Department, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The difference between blends with and without a Ken-React additive from Kenrich are significant (see photos).
CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: �
www.intermixperformancematerials.com �
www.nexamchemical.com �
www.evonik.com �
www.dow.com �
https://ngc-nordic.com �
www.exxonmobilchemical.com �
www.thecompoundcompany.com �
https://polyscope.eu �
www.tisan.com.tr �
https://sk-fp.com �
www.sukano.com �
https://4kenrich.com
May/June 2022 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 37
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