Mechanical properties of renewable polymer of thermoplastic polyethylene blended with waste oil polymer at prolonged ultra-violet irradiation

Anika Zafiah M. Rus; Nurul Syamimi M. Salim; Nurulsaidatulsyida Sulong

Mechanical properties of renewable polymer of thermoplastic polyethylene blended with waste oil polymer at prolonged ultra-violet irradiation

2021

Anika Zafiah M. Rus | Nurul Syamimi M. Salim | Nurulsaidatulsyida Sulong

Recycling of waste oil into polymeric substances has become increasingly important for many applications in agriculture and packaging as it is a renewable resource derived from natural plants, such as sunflower, cotton, linseed or oil palm. Apart from natural palm oil, waste oils derived from industrial activities are converted into monomers and crosslinked with hardener to form solid polymers, namelywaste oil polymer (WP). WP is then mixed with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) at ratio of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%. The mixing of both polymer substances using injection molding was carried out to produce solid shape dumbbell specimens. The specimens were exposed under Ultra Violet (UV) irradiation at different durations starting from 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 and 3000 hours. The mechanical properties show that the WP composition ratios and UV irradiation exposure times play significant roles in controlling mechanical properties of dwi-matrix polymers blended with LDPE and HDPE of synthetic polymers. The tensile strength and elongation at break of WL5 blend were higher than the neat LDPE, with the percentage increment of 11% and 3.7% respectively before and after UV irradiation exposure at 500 hours. Meanwhile, the tensile strength and young’s modulus generally decreased for WH while the elongation at break increases for all composition ratios, thus providing the opportunity to modulate polymer properties.

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