Multifaceted Evaluation of Changes in Physical Properties of Recycled Plastics by Advanced Recycling Process and Influencing Microstructural Changes (Part 2): Example of Application to Simulated Degraded Polypropylene

User Benefits

- Evaluation of changes in the microscopic physical structures in plastic during molding is possible by multifaceted measurements using general-purpose instruments. - It is possible to understand the physical properties of plastics and the factors that influence those properties.

Introduction

In the previously-published Application News article “Multifaceted Evaluation of Changes in Physical Properties of Recycled Plastics by Advanced Recycling Process and Influencing Microstructural Changes (Part 1),” it was found that the microscopic physical structure of recycled polyethylene (PE) was controlled by applying a new advanced recycling process, and as a result, the strain at break and the impact property improved. That study also demonstrated that a multifaceted evaluation combining the elastic modulus, indentation hardness (H_IT), crystallization start temperature, and orientation and structural information in the micro region is an effective approach for understanding the changes in the microscopic physical structure. Here, the same multifaceted evaluation was carried out for simulated degraded polypropylene (PP), and the changes in the physical properties and the microscopic physical structure were analyzed.

July 22, 2025 GMT