Abstract
This paper presents the reuse process of post-consumer printed foils made of glycol-modified poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PETG). Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and a scanning electron microscope confirmed that these foils consist of PETG and PS layers. Firstly, foil pieces were immersed in the organic solution to remove all prints and after washing and drying they were extruded into regranulate rPETG pellets. Three types of PETG/rPETG blends were fabricated with the addition of 10, 20 and 30 wt% of virgin PETG. Microscopic analysis of the blends confirmed their homogeneity, as was also shown by the fact that there was only one glass transition peak in the heating curve given by differential scanning calorimetry. Moreover, in the presence of fresh PETG the degradation temperatures of rPETG improved significantly, and the viscosity of all blends was reduced as a result of shortened macromolecule chains in rPETG. Mechanical analysis of the materials showed that all blends have comparable tensile strength and a Young’s modulus that is higher than rPETG but lower than virgin PETG. Elongation at break decreases together with the content of rPETG.
Highlights
The problem of large amounts of waste is the result of everincreasing demand for plastic products, especially from the packaging industry
In the presented paper the mechanical recycling process of post-consumer PETG foils involves the removal of colored prints using an organic solution and extrusion the clear foil pieces to form regranulate pellets
Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and SEM analysis it was found that the waste foils coming from various product labels consist of a thin layer of PETG and a thick layer which was found to be PS
Summary
The problem of large amounts of waste is the result of everincreasing demand for plastic products, especially from the packaging industry. One example of common rubbish is polymeric foil with various types of colorful prints, which are used as labels on food and chemical packaging [1]. These foils are very often produced from PETG due to its high transparency resulting from its low content of crystalline phase, good mechanical properties and good chemical resistance [2, 3]. PETG has become popular in 3D printing [4].
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