Effect of recycling on the optical, mechanical and structural properties of polypropylene fibers

Abstract

The effect of recycling on polypropylene fibers is studied interferometrically. Optical parameters as the refractive index profiles, the optical orientation function and the molecular structure are determined using the Mach–Zehnder interferometer. Some tensile parameters as well as some structural parameters are obtained with the aid of an automated drawing device attached with the interferometer. A comparison between these parameters for the studied (virgin, recycled and virgin recycled 50/50 polypropylene) fibers is presented to show the effect of recycling on these parameters. The study is performed using a He–Ne laser source with 10mW output power when its intensity is reduced to a low level in order to avoid the effect of the high intensity of this laser on the studied fibers.