Waste Management: Saeed Kazemi Najafi
Waste Management: Saeed Kazemi Najafi
Waste Management: Saeed Kazemi Najafi
Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman
Review
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: The use of recycled and waste thermoplastics has been recently considered for producing wood plastic
Received 5 December 2012 composites (WPCs). They have great potential for WPCs manufacturing according to results of some lim-
Accepted 21 May 2013 ited researches. This paper presents a detailed review about some essential properties of waste and recy-
Available online 15 June 2013
cled plastics, important for WPCs production, and of research published on the effect of recycled plastics
on the physical and mechanical properties of WPCs.
Keywords: Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Wood plastic composites
Waste and recycled plastics
Degradation
Physical and mechanical properties
1. Introduction et al., 1994). Also, recycled plastics can be used in wood plastic
composites (WPCs), which use will provide an additional market
Recycled and waste thermoplastics are some of the major com- for recycled plastics. Trex, the largest supplier of wood-plastic
ponents of global municipal solid waste (MSW) and they present a composite lumber, purchases an average of over 227,000 kg of
promising raw material source for WPCs, especially because of the plastic scrap each day (Principia Partners, 2002). Winandy et al.
large volume and low cost of these materials. Table 1 shows that (2004) listed some wood plastic composite products using recycled
waste plastics account for 11.2% of the annual 84.2 thousands tons plastics, produced commercially in the USA.
of the municipal waste stream generated in Tehran during 2006 Generally in WPC manufacturing, virgin thermoplastic poly-
(Ashori, 2008) and 12.4% of 250 million tons in the USA during mers are widely used. The most prevalent polymers are PE, PP,
2010 (EPA, 2011). PVC and PS. The waste and recycled plastics have been used for
As given in Table 2, high density polyethylene (HDPE), low den- manufacturing WPCs already in 1990s and the use has significantly
sity polyethylene (LDPE/LLDPE), polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene increased in the developed and developing countries in recent
terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride years. This paper presents a detailed review about waste and recy-
(PVC) are the primary constituents of plastics in MSW. The blend cled plastics and the research published on the effect of recycled
of the mixed waste plastics can be changed depending on the re- plastic on the physical and mechanical properties of WPCs.
gional habits and seasons of a year and on the mode of waste col-
lection, also (Chanda and Roy, 2007). Table 2 also shows that only
2. Properties of waste and recycled plastics
7.6% of 31 million tons (12.4% of MSW) of generated waste plastics
were recycled.
If the recycled plastics are considered as new materials in WPCs
Reutilizing the post-consumed polymeric materials reduces the
production, it is necessary primarily to understand well the ele-
environmental impact and the consumption of virgin plastics. Most
mental and fundamental structure of these materials. By knowing
single polymer plastics made from petroleum are relatively easy to
the properties of recycled plastics, the processes for manufacturing
recycle. Therefore, with an efficient collection, separation and recy-
WPCs can be well controlled and then the relationship between the
cling system, discarded plastics can be recycled into new products
properties of recycled plastics and their mechanical aspects can be
with only the addition of energy (Jayaraman and Bhattacharya,
better understood as well as those of the resulted WPC products.
2004).
At the end of the first life cycle of plastic products, or after being
Products manufactured from waste plastics for use are increas-
re-used several times, plastics can be recycled to yield new poly-
ing, including floor carpets, flower vases, waste paper baskets, park
meric materials or products. Since recycled plastics may be ob-
benches, picnic tables (DeWeese, 1998) and plastic lumber (Dutta
tained from various sources, having been exposed to different
storage and reprocessing conditions, they may therefore exhibit
⇑ Tel.: +98 122 6253101 3. different performance depending on their degradation level. Then
E-mail address: skazemi@modares.ac.ir the post-consumer plastics waste may contain many grades, colors
0956-053X/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2013.05.017
S. Kazemi Najafi / Waste Management 33 (2013) 1898–1905 1899
Table 1 Table 3
Generated materials in the municipal solid waste in Tehran (Iran) in 2006 (Ashori, Melting points of common thermoplastics (Goodship, 2007).
2008).
Polyolefin Melting point (°C)
Source Amount in municipal solid waste
LDPE 115
Weight (103 tons) Percentage LLDPE 123
HDPE 130
Dried bread 42.1 35.5
Polyethylene (PE) 135
Paper and paperboard 22.1 18.6
Polypropylene (PP) 170
Miscellaneous inorganic 13.2 11.1
Polystyrene (PS) 240
Plastics 11.2 9.4
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) 245
Metals 9.0 7.6
Polyamide 6 (PA6) 233
Glass 1.7 1.4
Textiles 0.7 0.6
Total 84.2 100
shown in Table 3. Any recycled plastics which can melt and be pro- Polymer PS PA PC PVC PP LDPE HDPE PET
cessed below the degradation temperature of wood or other ligno- Polystyrene (PS) Y
cellulosic fillers (200 °C) are usually suitable for manufacturing Polyamide (PA) N Y
WPCs (Clemons, 2008). Generally, no significant differences were Polycarbonate (PC) N N Y
observed in the melting points of virgin and recycled plastics Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) N N N Y
Polypropylene (PP) N N N N Y
(Achilias et al., 2008; Kazemi-Najafi et al., 2009; Ghahri et al.,
Low density polyethylene N N N N N Y
2012a), but in some cases the plastic waste (created from commer- (LDPE)
cial products) that contains any impurities and additives may have High density polyethylene N N N N N N Y
a melting point above 200 °C. (HDPE)
Melting points are critical when the recycled plastics are a Polyethylene N N N N N N N Y
terephthalate (PET)
mixed waste of different polymers with a different melting tem-
perature. In such a case, the melting point is not a point but a Y = miscible; N = immiscible.
1900 S. Kazemi-Najafi / Waste Management 33 (2013) 1898–1905
another one. Compatibilizers are commercially available for com- hence, requiring significantly higher amounts of antioxidants and
bining a wide range of virgin plastics (Lee et al., 1994; The and Ru- UV stabilizers compared to PE (Klyosov, 2007).
din, 1994; Flaris et al., 1995; Bertin and Robin, 2002; Kallel et al., MFI values in combination with crystallinity (small value of MFI
2003; Krach et al., 2004; Ubonnut et al., 2007) and this technology and high crystallinity % in recycled plastics means that the polymer
can also be applied to recyclate blends (Ha et al., 1996, 1999; Fang chains are closely packed with long polymeric chains) would help
et al., 2001; Bertin and Robin, 2002). The compatibilizers can be in deriving meaningful conclusions about the structure of the recy-
added during reprocessing usually at levels of around 2–5%. The cled plastics materials.
cost of the compatibilizer must be taken into account, but this is
offset against the elimination of the cost of separation and the gain 2.4. Crosslinking
in properties and commercial value.
On the other side, the different degradation of polymers during In general, different methods are used to modify the properties
processing and service life can affect the compatibility of the blend of thermoplastics for special applications by cross linking (Tamboli
components during processing. For example, the compatibility is et al., 2004). The crosslinking reduces the melt flow index, crystal-
affected by the presence of carbonyl groups produced by thermo- linty, Young modulus and elongation at break, while it improves
and photo-oxidation in polymers. The formation of these carbonyl the impact strength, creep resistance, resistance to slow crack
groups in degraded poly-olefin can act as compatibilizer, increas- growth and also environmental stress crack resistance.
ing the phase compatibility in recycled polymer blends (La Mantia The crosslinked polymers are used in a wide range of applica-
and Curto, 1992; Waldman and De Paoli, 1998). tions such as hot water pipes, packaging and electrically insoluble
applications (Ciesielska, 1998; Nalwa, 1999) and for this reason,
2.3. Rheology MSW contains a considerable amount of crosslinked polymers.
The degree of crosslinking changes from application to application.
The melt flow index (MFI) is a measure of molecular weight and In addition to crosslinked polymers which exist in MSW, cross-
molecular weight distribution characteristics of plastics in indus- linking may also be induced in polymers during reprocessing and
try. The plastics with higher MFI have shorter chains and therefore service life. Plastics are widely used for many outdoor applications,
lower molecular weight and easier flow (Strong, 2006). The oppo- exposed to sunlight that causes weathering at long periods. During
site is also true. A low melt index means longer chains and high weathering, polymers are exposed to UV light, heat, and moisture,
molecular weight. An increase in molecular weight leads to an in- causing thermo- and/or photo-oxidation to occur. Degradation of
crease in melt viscosity and impact strength, but leads to a lower some thermoplastics under accelerated and natural weathering
yield strength, lower hardness, lower stiffness and lower softening have been studied by several researches and the results showed
point. Generally for linear polymers, when MFI is plotted against various levels of crosslinking induced in PE (Valadez-Gonzalez
molecular weight, third order lines are obtained (Tzoganakis et al., 1999; Gulmine et al., 2003; Gulmine and Akcelrud,
et al., 1988; Bremner et al., 1990). An increase in melt flow index 2006a,b; Stark and Matuana, 2004; Kazemi-Najafi and Englund,
of recycled plastics improves the impregnation of plastic on ligno- 2013) and PP (Girois et al., 1996). The crosslinking levels depend
cellulosic fillers. on light intensity and spectrum, exposure time, temperature, sam-
Several authors have investigated the changes of rheological ple thickness, etc. (Girois et al., 1996).
properties of plastics after repetitive extrusion and injection mold- Crosslinking prevents the mobility of molecular chains, causing
ing (Guerrica-Echevarria et al., 1996; Canevarolo, 2000; Da Costa an interruptive melt-flow behavior that can change the nature of
et al., 2005, 2007; Meran et al., 2008; Kazemi-Najafi et al., 2009). the polymer from a thermoplastic to thermoset (Tamboli et al.,
The results showed an important decrease in melt viscosity (in- 2004). Due to its thermoset nature, the recycling of crosslinked
crease in MFI) of PP and PE. Generally virgin poly-olefins contain polymers cannot be carried out by melting them, because cross-
some loaded antioxidants (around 0.1% w/w) (Klyosov, 2007). linked polymers do not melt. Fig. 1 shows the injection mold of vir-
When the virgin plastics are processed into any products, the ini- gin HDPE and HDPE exposed to 200 h accelerated weathering at
tial antioxidant during the processing due to overheating and the same processing conditions. Because of considerable crosslink-
excessive shear is largely (or completely) depleted. For this reason ing induction during weathering, the exposed HDPE did not exhibit
in the next process, lack (or insufficient amounts) of antioxidants a thermoplastic melt flow and failed to fill the mold. Fig. 2 shows
will cause degradation (depolymerization) in polymeric plastics. the image of the flexural and tensile samples of WPCs (containing
Kazemi-Najafi et al. (2009) and Canevarolo (2000) showed a signif- a different content of highly crosslinked HDPE) prepared by injec-
icant reduction in the molecular weight in the second round of tion molding (Kazemi-Najafi and Englund, 2013). By increasing the
extrusion during multiple extrusions, which caused a great in- crosslinked HDPE content to 20% or higher, the mold could not be
crease in MFI. This behavior was expected as a result of the poly- filled by the wood flour–HDPE blends. This phenomenon indicates
mer chain degradation due to a severe thermal and stress cycle the poor processibility of highly degraded and crosslinked HDPE.
exerted during the extrusion process, leading to a molecular The use of crosslinked recycled plastics causes some non-molten
weight reduction. PP is notably less stable than PE, as reflected in regions in the matrix within WPCs (Satoto et al., 1997). These
the higher concentration of antioxidants and stabilizers required non-molten areas can be the location of stress concentration,
to give it the necessary stability during processing and in service which will affect physical and mechanical properties of the
life (Sadrmohaghegh and Scott, 1981). Antioxidants can slow the composites.
thermo-mechanical degradation during the reprocessing steps,
then avoiding drastic deterioration of the final properties of the 2.5. Crystallinity
recycled plastics (Tzankova Dintcheva and La Mantia, 1999). Lack
of antioxidants in the recycled plastic (especially multi-recycled) Crystallites (crystallinity) promote rigidity, hardness, and heat
will be an important factor to accelerate WPC oxidation in pres- resistance. On the other hand, amorphous regions give rise to flex-
ence of temperature and ultraviolet (UV) light. Adding antioxidants ibility of polymer chains. In recycled plastics the amount of crystal-
aims both at preserving the plastic during the processing at high linity is usually less than that of virgin plastics.
temperatures and at saving wood/recycled plastic composites from The results of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) for
a rapid deterioration under direct sunlight, air oxygen, water, pol- recycled PP and PE show a decrease in percentage of crystallinity
lutants, and other elements. PPs are more prone to oxidation, (Valadez-Gonzalez et al., 1999; Baquero et al., 2002; Gulmine
S. Kazemi Najafi / Waste Management 33 (2013) 1898–1905 1901
2.6. Polarity
3.1. Effect of recycled plastic on flexural and tensile properties of WPCs coupling agent type/concentration on the composite properties
were studied. The results showed that the coupling agents improve
Tensile and flexural properties of wood/recycled plastic com- the compatibility between the bagasse fiber and recycled HDPE,
posites have been studied by some authors. Yam et al. (1990) stud- and that the mechanical properties of the resultant composites
ied them on composites made from aspen fibers and recycled are comparable with those of virgin HDPE composites.
HDPE, but they did not compare the results with composites made Ashori and Nourbakhsh (2009) investigated the tensile and flex-
from virgin HDPE. Youngquist et al. (1994) compared the mechan- ural properties of the composites made from recycled plastics and
ical properties of the WPCs made from two types of recycled PP old newspaper fibers. The results indicate that the composites with
and two types of recycled fibers (waste newspaper and old maga- recycled HDPE provide moderately superior properties as com-
zines). The WPCs were manufactured by a melt blending method. pared to recycled PP samples.
The materials were compounded in either a single-screw extruder Jayaraman and Halliwell (2009) produced composite specimens
or a K mixer and the test specimens prepared by injection molding. and sheets consisting of fibers from the flax plant (Phormium tenax
The results showed that with the same filler, substituting recycled or Harakeke) and waste plastics blends through screwless extru-
PP for virgin PP leads to lower strength and stiffness. sion followed by injection molding. The proportion of each recy-
Tzankova Dintcheva and La Mantia (1999) investigated the ef- cled plastics (PP, HDPE, LDPE and PET) was set in proportion
fect of the addition of wood fibers on recycling of a light fraction similar to the plastics contained in the household waste stream
sample of MSW (mainly containing PP and PEs). They observed in New Zealand in order to produce a waste plastics blend. The ten-
that it led to a remarkable increase of the elastic modulus and sile properties of the composites showed reasonable higher than
the tensile strength remained almost unchanged. The use of func- those made of the waste plastics blend. Also the composites could
tionalized PP samples improved the mechanical properties, in par- be thermo-formed into complex shapes.
ticular at very low concentrations. Adhikary et al. (2008) have shown that the mechanical proper-
Ha et al. (1999) studied the effect of combining cellulose on the ties (flexural and tensile properties) of the composites made from
properties of virgin and/or recycled commingled plastics with a post-consumer recycled HDPE are similar to or, in some cases, bet-
simulated waste-plastics fraction composed of HDPE, PP, PS, PVC ter than the composites made of the virgin HDPE.
(PE/PP/PS/PVC 57/1/1/1 by weight ratio). The compatibilizing effect Kazemi-Najafi et al. (2009) studied the influence of twice ex-
of maleic anhydride-grafted styrene–ethylene/butylene–styrene truded PP on the mechanical properties of wood flour/PP compos-
block copolymer (SEBS-g MAH) for the cellulose-reinforced com- ites. The results showed that the flexural modulus and the strength
mingled blends was also investigated. It was found that the addi- of PP are significantly increased by extrusion and re-extrusion of
tion of more than 12.5% cellulose into the commingled blends virgin PP. The composites containing recycled PP exhibited higher
was effective in enhancing the flexural and tensile strengths of flexural properties and hardness than those containing virgin PP.
the virgin and recycled blends. The compatibilizer significantly in- MAPP significantly increased the mechanical properties of the
creased the mechanical properties. The composites containing vir- composites made of both virgin and recycled PP. Similar results
gin plastics exhibited superior mechanical properties from those were found by Ghahri et al. (2012a).
containing recycled plastics. The influence of highly degraded HDPE on the physical, rheolog-
Sellers et al. (2000) demonstrated that for hot-pressed compos- ical and mechanical properties of wood flour–HDPE composites
ites of recycled pine wood fibers and recycled PE, these composites was studied by Kazemi-Najafi and Englund (2013). For this pur-
have mechanical properties suitable for construction applications. pose, virgin HDPE was subjected to accelerated weathering. The
Kamdem et al. (2004) found that the flexural modulus and strength virgin and exposed HDPE and pine wood flour were compounded
of boards made with virgin HDPE was higher than those made with to produce wood flour–HFPE composites. Accelerated weathering
recycled HDPE. Mali et al. (2003) reported that the tensile strength degraded HDPE highly and created extensive crosslinking in HDPE
and modulus of WPCs made from recycled PP are higher than those and consequently poor processibility. Only a small part (10%) of the
made from virgin PP. The recycled PP exhibited higher tensile virgin HDPE could be replaced by highly degraded HDPE for wood
properties compared to virgin PP. Selke and Wichman (2004) pro- flour–HDPE composite manufacturing. The tensile and flexural
duced recycled HDPE (simulated milk gallon)–wood fiber compos- properties of the composites containing highly degraded HDPEs
ites using extrusion molding and reported that the composites were similar to the composites with virgin HDPE and exhibited
were at least as good as the composites based on virgin plastic, superior properties in some cases.
and in most cases the differences between the recycled and virgin
matrix composites were not statistically significant. Jayaraman and
Bhattacharyya (2004) investigated the performance of melt blend- 3.2. Effect of recycled plastic on hygroscopic properties of WPCs
ing and injection molding composites made of Pinus radiata fibers
and different kinds of recycled HDPE and found that the tensile and Water absorption and the consequent thickness swelling are
flexural properties of these composites at room temperature and the most important characteristics of WPCs exposed to environ-
humidity depend on the mechanical properties of the waste plas- mental conditions, determining their end-use applications. There-
tics. They did not compare the results to composite made of virgin fore, the hygroscopic characteristics have to be taken into
plastics. They concluded that plastics from the post-consumer account in the design of WPCs for their final application as limiting
waste stream can be successfully utilized to make composite mate- parameters. For this reason, considerable research has been con-
rials with useful mechanical properties. Kazemi-Najafi et al. ducted on water absorption of WPCs made of virgin plastics. The
(2006a) found that the flexural and tensile properties of specimens hygroscopic properties of wood/recycled plastics have also been
containing recycled plastics (HDPE and PP) are statistically compa- studied in limited researches.
rable to those composites made of virgin plastics. The composite Kazemi-Najafi et al. (2006b) found that the maximum water
containing recycled PE and recycled PP blend exhibited statistically absorption and diffusion coefficients of WPCs of recycled plastics
a higher flexural modulus compared to those made of mixed virgin (PP or HDPE) are higher than those made of virgin plastics. WPCs
plastics (virgin PE/virgin PP). made of the mixture of recycled PP and recycled HDPE exhibited
Composites based on recycled HDPE and natural fibers were the highest water absorption and diffusion coefficients. Water
made through melt blending and compression molding by Lei absorption of the composites was proved to follow the kinetics of
et al. (2007). The effects of the fibers (wood and bagasse) and the a Fickian diffusion process.
S. Kazemi Najafi / Waste Management 33 (2013) 1898–1905 1903
4. Conclusion
plastics due to repeated processing cycles and environmental Fang, Z., Zeng, M., Cai, G., Xu, C., 2001. Application of phase dispersion–crosslinking
synergism on recycling commingled plastic wastes. Journal of Applied Polymer
exposure complicates recycling, so focused researches are re-
Science 82, 2947–2952.
quired. Therefore, the effect of the degradation level of recycled Fann, D., Huang, K.S., Lee, J.Y., 1996. Kinetics and thermal crystallinity of recycled
plastics on mechanical properties and performance of WPCs needs PET. I. Dynamic cooling crystallization studies on blends recycled with
to be identified to obtain an acceptable level of physical and engineering PET. Journal of Applied Polymer Science 61, 1375–1385.
Flaris, V., Zipper, M.D., Simon, G.P., Hill, A.J., 1995. Compatibilizer liner low-density
mechanical properties of the final product. Such an analysis has polyethylene/isotactic polypropylene blends studied by positron annihilation
not been addressed so far in the literature but should be consid- lifetime spectroscopy. Polymer Engineering and Science 1, 28–33.
ered. On the other hand, because the separation of recycled plastics Ghahri, S., Kazemi-Najafi, S., Mohebby, B., Tajvidi, M., 2012a. Impact strength
improvement of wood flour–recycled polypropylene composites. Journal of
imposes additional costs, it is required that these recycled plastic Applied Polymer Science 124, 1074–1080.
blends be used together. Thus more research is needed on WPCs Ghahri, S., Kazemi-Najafi, S., Mohebby, B., 2012b. The Effect of impact modifier on
produced from recycled plastic blends (or MPW). impact strength of recycled polypropylene–wood flour composites. Journal of
Forest and Wood Products 64, 419–433.
Girois, S., Audouin, L., Verdu, J., Delprat, P., Marot, G., 1996. Molecular weight
changes during the photooxidation of isotactic polypropylene. Polymer
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