Analysis of Impact and Tensile Properties of Recycled Polypropylene

Abstract

The present research proposed to evaluate the tensile and impact properties of polypropylene originating from secondary recycling. The polymer chosen for the studies was polypropylene (PP) for its high application and availability. The tensile and impact tests were performed on virgin polypropylene, recycled polypropylene and mixtures of different proportions of both. Thus, for each sample, values of yield strength, elastic modulus, yield elongation and impact strength were obtained. The results of the averages obtained demonstrated that the tensile properties of virgin PP and recycled PP are similar, as well as those of the mixtures between both. Regarding the impact properties, it was observed that the energy absorbed by the recycled polymers is lower than that of the virgin polypropylene. Consequently, recycled polypropylene can replace virgin polypropylene in applications which are subjected to tension stress but not in those subjected it to impact.