Chapter 11: Promise

Title: Recycling of engineering thermoplastics used in consumer electrical and electronic equipment

Author(s): Elli Lazzaro, Igor Sbarski, John Bishop

Address: IRIS, Swinburne University of Technology, 533-545 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia | IRIS, Swinburne University of Technology, 533-545 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia | IRIS, Swinburne University of Technology, 533-545 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia

Reference: International Conference on Product Lifecycle Management 2007 pp. 717 - 724

Abstract/Summary: Diminishing land fill capacity and increased volume of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) are the main drivers for the recycling of engineering thermoplastics. WEEE can be recycled in bulk or as separated components of a disassembled machine. Bulk recycling is the economically preferred option, however the blending of incompatible plastics without modification often limits the end use of the recycled plastics. The decision to apply expensive sorting techniques at the end of a products life should be based on mechanical properties and processability of the engineering thermoplastics contaminated by other polymeric materials. This paper investigates properties of various recycled thermoplastic blends to determine the degree of sorting required. Focusing on Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS) as the main component, six ABS/PP (polypropylene) blends, three ABS/Nylon and three ABS/HIPS (high impact polystyrene) blends were prepared on a single screw extruder. Mechanical and thermal properties were analyzed by comparison with pure virgin and recycled materials, as well as selected virgin blends. The results show that generally, these thermoplastics should be separated prior to processing to optimize the properties of the recycled plastics. However, some particular blends have sufficient mechanical properties such that they can be used for various applications where the use of sorting techniques is not economically viable.

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