17th International Fiber and Polymer Research Symposium

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Determining the thermal properties of recycled polypropylene by solvent extraction

Authors :

Açelya Alkan¹ Reha Akın² Celal Beysel³ Ömer Yunus Gümüş⁴

1- 2- 3- 4-

Keywords :

Polypropylene،Recycling،Solvent extraction،Thermal properties

Abstract :

Among other material classes, the use of polymers is increasing day by day due to their physical and chemical properties such as lightweight, corrosion resistance, ease of processing, design flexibility, etc. However, when polymer products, which are largely derived from petroleum, reach the waste stage after their end-of-life, they create drawbacks in terms of both carbon emissions and energy conservation. Therefore, the recycling of used polymers is of great importance. In polymeric products, besides the polymer as the base material, there are many additives such as fillers, dyes, stabilizers, etc. These additives not only weaken the properties of the recycled polymer but also limit product diversity. Mechanical methods that do not involve any purification or separation to eliminate additives are commonly used in polymer recycling. Additionally, since this method requires repeated heating process, the mechanical properties are adversely affected. On the other hand, advanced chemical recycling techniques are being developed to purify the polymer from waste material and to achieve properties close to virgin polymer through solvent extraction. However, finding a suitable solvent for one of the most common polymers, polypropylene (PP), is challenging. In this study, extraction of PP was performed using an ionic liquid-based solvent previously developed under an EU project. The thermal properties of the recycled PP were determined using TGA and DSC techniques, and the results were compared with virgin PP. Thus, it was demonstrated how the thermal properties of the recycled PP changed with this new technique.