Recycling of Pretreated Polyolefin-Based Ocean-Bound Plastic Waste by Incorporating Clay and Rubber

Martey, Shawn; Hendren, Keith; Farfaras, Nicholas; Kelly, Jesse C.; Newsome, Matthew; Ciesielska-Wrobel, Izabela; Sobkowicz, Margaret J.; Chen, Wan-Ting

doi:10.3390/recycling7020025

Recycling of Pretreated Polyolefin-Based Ocean-Bound Plastic Waste by Incorporating Clay and Rubber

Journal Article · Thu Apr 14 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Recycling

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling7020025· OSTI ID:1863611

Martey, Shawn; Hendren, Keith; Farfaras, Nicholas; Kelly, Jesse C.; Newsome, Matthew; ; Sobkowicz, Margaret J.;

Plastic waste found in oceans has become a major concern because of its impact on marine organisms and human health. There is significant global interest in recycling these materials, but their reclamation, sorting, cleaning, and reprocessing, along with the degradation that occurs in the natural environment, all make it difficult to achieve high quality recycled resins from ocean plastic waste. To mitigate these limitations, various additives including clay and rubber were explored. In this study, we compounded different types of ocean-bound (o-HDPE and o-PP) and virgin polymers (v-LDPE and v-PS) with various additives including a functionalized clay, styrene-multi-block-copolymer (SMB), and ethylene-propylene-based rubber (EPR). Physical observation showed that all blends containing PS were brittle due to the weak interfaces between the polyolefin regions and the PS domains within the polymer blend matrix. Blends containing clay showed rough surfaces and brittleness because of the non-uniform distribution of clay particles in the polymer matrix. To evaluate the properties and compatibility of the blends, characterizations using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and small-amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) rheology were carried out. The polymer blend (v-LDPE, o-HDPE, o-PP) containing EPR showed improved elasticity. Incorporating additives such as rubber could improve the mechanical properties of polymer blends for recycling purposes.

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Research Organization:: Luna Innovations Incorporated, Roanoke, VA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office

Contributing Organization:: University of Massachusetts Lowell

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0020765

OSTI ID:: 1863611

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1864704

Journal Information:: Recycling, Journal Name: Recycling Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 7; ISSN RECYBS; ISSN 2313-4321

Publisher:: MDPI AGCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: Switzerland

Language:: English

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