Polyamide 12 Filled with Cross-Linked Polyethylene Waste: Processing, Compatibilization, and Properties

Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) is primarily used as a coating and insulator for electrical wires and cables. The cross-links render recycling through remelting unfeasible, and XLPE waste is usually incinerated or sent to landfills. Previous investigations showed that XLPE increased the impact strength of commodity thermoplastics. Hence, incorporating XLPE in polyamide 12, an engineering thermoplastic, was studied using maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (PE-g-MA). Formulations were prepared using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder containing 20 wt% XLPE with 0, 2, 4, and 8 wt% compatibilizer. Test specimens were injection-molded. DSC results showed that adding XLPE and compatibilizer reduced PA12 crystallinity but affected little melt and crystallization temperatures. Morphological analyses revealed poor adhesion between polyamide 12 and XLPE, which improved when adding PE-g-MA. The lack of adhesion when XLPE is added strongly reduces the mechanical properties, except for impact strength, which increased by ca.120% compared to the formulation without XLPE; while using 4 wt% compatibilizer this increase was ca. 140%. When adding PE-g-MA as a compatibilizer, some recovery was achieved in tensile strength and strain at break, and impact strength increased furthermore. Flexure and HDT tests showed a decrease in stiffness after adding XLPE. Stiffness was further reduced in compositions containing compatibilizer.

Keywords:
Polyamide 12; XLPE; Reuse; Waste; Compatibilization