Bio-based epoxidised oil for compatibilization and value addition of poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in recycled blend

Abstract

The effective utilization of bio-based material, epoxidised soybean oil (ESO), in recycled blend of Poly(vinyl chloride)/Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PVC/PMMA) was considered for the first time in this present investigation. Recycled blend with different concentrations of ESO were prepared via melt blending technique. Resulted blends were characterized by various physiochemical, mechanical and thermal characterizations. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis indicates reduction in the degradation behaviour of PVC phase present in the PVC/PMMA blend after introduction of ESO into it. The recycled blend with 9 wt% of ESO exhibit superior impact strength than other compositions. The thermal gravimetric analysis of ESO incorporated blend shows improved thermal stability than its parent blend. The DSC analysis shows improved compatibility of recycled blends in presence of ESO. Moreover the scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis exhibits improved surface morphology with enhanced interfacial adhesion. Thus this study paves way for exploitation of bio derived ESO for value addition of recycled plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipments.