Recycled Polymer Composition With Vinylaromatic Compatibilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Polymer blends of post-consumer recycled materials exhibit poor mechanical, thermal, and flow properties, limiting their use to less demanding applications due to low ductility and impact strength, and achieving high purity requires costly separation processes.
Innovation Solution
A polymer composition comprising at least 50 wt.-% of post-consumer recycled vinylaromatic copolymer, which forms a homogeneous mixture with other recycled polymers, enhancing compatibility and properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If post-consumer recycled polymers are blended without separation, then production costs are reduced and productivity is improved, but mechanical properties and compatibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a vinylaromatic copolymer as a compatibilizer/intermediary substance that mediates between different recycled polymer types. This copolymer contains functional groups that can interact with multiple polymer phases, reducing interfacial tension and improving adhesion between incompatible recycled polymers, thereby maintaining mechanical properties while allowing blended recycling
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite material system by combining post-consumer recycled polymers with a specifically designed vinylaromatic copolymer. This composite approach allows the system to achieve properties superior to the individual components, where the copolymer matrix provides compatibility while the recycled polymer aggregates contribute to the overall structure and function
2Strength
If polymer separation is performed to achieve high purity, then mechanical properties and compatibility are improved, but production costs and process complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the problematic aspect of polymer incompatibility by removing the need for complex separation processes. Instead of separating polymers to achieve compatibility, the invention extracts and adds a compatibilizing agent (vinylaromatic copolymer) that enables compatibility in the blended state, thereby eliminating the need for expensive separation equipment and processes
3Stability of the object's composition
If domain size is reduced to achieve miscibility, then compatibility is improved, but processing difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the chemical parameter composition of the polymer system by introducing a vinylaromatic copolymer with specific functional group ratios. This parameter change in composition enables the system to achieve miscibility at larger domain sizes than conventional blends, as the copolymer's chemical structure promotes compatibility without requiring extreme domain size reduction that would complicate processing
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a polymer composition P comprising: A: 0.1 to 50 parts by weight of at least one post-consumer recycled polymer as component A; B: 50 to 99.9 parts by weight of at least one post-consumer recycled vinylaromatic copolymer as component B, wherein the post-consumer recycled polymer A is dissolved in the vinylaromatic copolymer B, and/or wherein the post-consumer recycled polymer A is dispersed in form of discontinuous phase domains in a continuous phase of the vinylaromatic copolymer B and wherein the discontinuous phase of the post-consumer recycled polymer A at least comprises phase domains having an average diameter in the range of >30 nm to ≤5 μm.