Mechanical and Processing Enhancement of a Recycled HDPE/PPR-Based Double-Wall Corrugated Pipe via a POE- g-MAH/CaCO3/HDPE Polymer Composite

Abstract

With the people's awareness of the "3Rs"in recent years, using recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and random copolymer polypropylene (PPR) as the base materials for piping fabrication has become a mainstream in scholastic path and industrial engineering. In this study, the modified maleic anhydride-grafted polyethylene (POE-g-MAH) compatibilizer was fabricated to increase the interfacial adhesion and dispersion. With the surface modification of calcium carbonate, a POE-g-MAH/CaCO3/HDPE polymer composite has been prepared. Such modified polymer composites can further reinforce the processing performance and mechanical properties of recycled HDPE and PPR materials. The results indicated that with the introduction of the polymer composite, significant enhancement of the recycled materials in the aspects of processability, tensile strength, flexural performance, and impact force could be obtained, and the POE-g-MAH/CaCO3/HDPE polymer composite would contribute to the impressive balance between high rigidity and toughness. In addition, the feasibility and mechanical properties of the recycled HDPE-PPR-POE-g-MAH/CaCO3/HDPE blended system were also studied: with the help of a composite microcapsule, the gap of mechanical capacity between recycled and non-recycled materials was further reduced, and such a blended system was capable of being commercialized in the piping industry.