Study on rheological and dimensional properties of polypropylene on end-of-life vehicles

Abstract

As the global population increased, the production of vehicles also has increased. It is estimated that the population of vehicles in the world has exceeded 1.32 billion units at the end of 2016. The increased vehicle production brings a lot of negative impact to the environment such as noise pollution and the increase of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). This study aims on the potential of recycled polypropylene that has been used in ELVs. The recycled materials are obtained from vehicles dismantling center at DRB-HICOM Environmental Services Sdn Bhd. The materials were then cleaned and crushed into the pellet before undergoing rheological test at the heat treatment laboratory, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Uitm Shah Alam. The purpose of rheological test is to study the melt flow behavior of recycled polypropylene in order to obtain the optimum temperature to be applied in plastic injection molding process. The graph of shear viscosity vs. shear rate represents the behavior of both materials at 190°C, 200°C and 210°C. Then materials are produced as a new product. The process of plastic injection molding is carried out at Sheikh Brothers Industries Sdn Bhd in Pelabuhan Klang.