The increasing use of polymeric materials in several applications leads to the production of a high amount of post consume and post industrial wastes with expressive pollutant potential. Mechanical recycling is an important way to decrease the problems caused by these wastes because it allows one to associate economic viability with environmental benefits. In this paper a study was carried out on the recycling of poly(ethylene tereftalate) (PET) wastes from the production of nonwoven fabrics (NWF) and of polyamide (PA) wastes from old tires for production of polymeric blends via reactive extrusion in the presence of trans-reaction catalysts. The results from thermal and chemical characterization indicated trans-reactions between segments of polymeric chains of the two polymers, promoting the system compatibilization. The production of PET/PA blends is an interesting alternative for recycling PET and PA wastes.
Recycling; PET; polyamide; blends; reactive extrusion
