Thermoplastic Elastomer based on Recycled HDPE/Ground Tire Rubber Interfacially Modified with an Elastomer: Effect of Mixing Sequence and Elastomer Type/Content

ABSTRACT

The effect of interfacial interaction and processing methods (one-step and two-step) on the structure–property relationships of ternary blends was investigated. The addition of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and ethylene octene copolymer (POE) resulted in homogeneous structure and greatly improved rubber-like properties of recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) and regenerated tire rubber (RR) blends. Interfacial tension calculations revealed a high tendency of POE to encapsulate rubber particles (complete wetting). The two-step processing contributed to perfect encapsulation of the rubber phase via a soft/thick POE interface resulting in uniform RR particle dispersion, high elongation at break (138.5%), and impact strength (394 J/m) of rHDPE/(RR/POE) (20/80) ternary blend.

KEYWORDS:

• Recycling
• thermoplastic elastomer
• compatibilization
• impact strength

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the technical support of the Research Center on Advanced Materials (CERMA).

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Notes on contributors

Ali Fazli

Ali Fazli is a Ph.D. student in chemical engineering with a focus of polymer recycling.

Denis Rodrigue

Denis Rodrigue is a professor of chemical engineering for over 25 years. His research focusses on polymer processing, characterization and recycling.