Flammability Properties of Virgin and Recycled Polycarbonate (PC) and Acrylonitrile–Butadiene–Styrene (ABS) Recovered from End-of-Life Electronics |
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Authors: | M Masud K Khan Carlos J Hilado Sushant Agarwal Rakesh K Gupta |
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Institution: | (1) Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Health, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD, 4702, Australia;(2) Product Safety Corporation, Sissonville, WV, USA;(3) Department of Chemical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA |
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Abstract: | Acrylonitrile–Butadiene–Styrene (ABS), Polycarbonate (PC) and their alloys are widely used in automotive industry, computer
and equipment housings. With increasing disposal of end-of-life electronic equipment, there is also an increased demand for
recycling of these materials so that they do not pose environmental challenge as solid waste. One of the recycling approaches
is mechanical recycling of these thermoplastics where recycled plastic is melt blended with virgin materials to obtain a high
quality product. Besides obtaining desirable mechanical properties, such blends should also conform to fire safety standards.
In this work, a series of blends were prepared using PC and ABS recovered from discarded computers and virgin materials using
a twin-screw extruder. Their flammability properties were evaluated using burner flammability tests and Ohio State University
(OSU) release rate tests. It was found that the extinguishing time, burning extent and weight loss appears to progressively
decrease with the addition of both virgin or recycled PC to virgin or recycled ABS. It was also seen that the addition of
the 70% of PC, virgin or recycled, to ABS virgin or recycled, appears to significantly decrease heat release and smoke evolution.
The results of this study indicate that recycled polycarbonate can be used as an additive for virgin or recycled ABS, as a
means of giving flame resistance to ABS in high-value applications. This result is significant when related to the result
obtained by a separate study indicating that up to 25% of recycled material can be used without degradation of mechanical
properties in the presence of 15% short glass fiber reinforcement. |
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Keywords: | Polycarbonate ABS Flammability Recycling Blends |
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