Ternary waste plastic blends for binding and adhesion

ABSTRACT

This paper reports the preparation of blends from different mixtures of depolymerised Polyethylene terephthalate (DPET), an Unsaturated Polyester Resin, and Ravemul VV/55. In an attempt to reduce pollution through recycling plastic waste, a set of blends are subjected to comparative analysis after the casting process by Infrared-FTIR spectroscopy, hardness, and water absorption. In addition, Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) photo is taken of DPET to measure the particle size of the powder. The tests result obtained show that the mechanical properties have been improved, and the cohesion has been significantly increased in the presence of unsaturated polyester resin. FTIR confirms the interaction between the recycled Polyethylene terephthalate, VV/55, and UPS. Furthermore, FTIR results show good compatibility between the plastic blends because of the functional features of the blended groups. In addition, the particle size of the DPET is considered; the size ranges from 8.55 to 14.56 Nm.

KEYWORDS:

• Blend
• plastic
• waste
• depolymerisation
• polyester
• adhesives

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Department of Materials Engineering, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq, for guidance and support. Many thanks to my supervisors Dr Mohammed Alzuhairi and Dr Sarmad Imad.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.