Production and Characterization of Blend Ratio Between Virgin and Scrap Polypropylene for Thin Wall Packaging by Injection Molding

Abstract

This study has investigated the feasibility of producing thin wall polypropylene glass with using scrap polypropylene from frozen food packaging and virgin polypropylene (PP) in different ratios. The specimens were formed by injection molding process and they were analyzed microstructure, physical properties, mechanical properties and thermal properties. The microstructure of thin wall were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Mechanical properties were investigated Top load. The Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was used to analyze the crystalline structure of the product. The optimization results show that the proposed approach can help identify optimal ratios and achieve competitive advantages of energy consumption and product quality. Thin wall polypropylene glass can be successful recycled by using 50% scrap polypropylene to produce relatively high mechanical strength. Top load of the glass ranged from 1038-1181 N. Thermal properties of the products include glass transition temperature -38 °C, crystallization temperature 104 °C and melting temperature 215 °C. The experimental compositions allowed recycling residues to produce thin wall polypropylene glass with suitable properties with reducing the cost of the process and environmental benefits.