Study of the influence of organic peroxide and elastomeric modifier in the mechanical and flow properties of the recycled polypropylene

Abstract

Plastics have been replacing other traditional materials such as wood, metal and glass over the past decades due to its versatility in properties, processability, and cost. Polypropylene can be highlighted as one of the main thermoplastics used in industry since it presents properties suitable for various applications, combining density, cost, availability, and ease of molding. By considering the mechanical recycling of post-consumer or post-industrial material, difficulty in flowability is observed, which demands modification to promote processability. This work used the traditional solution for flow modification (peroxide) and elastomeric modifier to evaluate the impact of these additives on the mechanical and flow properties of recycled polypropylene by tensile strength, melt index and spiral flow analyses. Although the modified sample with organic peroxide had a higher melt flow index, the mechanical resistance was lower than the elastomeric modifier, which showed good performance in the material flow during processing according to spiral flow analysis.