The Multiple Uses of Polypropylene/Polyethylene Terephthalate Microfibrillar Composite Structures to Support Waste Management-Composite Processing and Properties

Abdulhakim Almajid; Rolf Walter; Tim Kroos; Harri Junaedi; Martin Gurka; Khalil Abdelrazek Khalil

doi:10.3390/polym13081296

The Multiple Uses of Polypropylene/Polyethylene Terephthalate Microfibrillar Composite Structures to Support Waste Management-Composite Processing and Properties

Polymers (Basel). 2021 Apr 15;13(8):1296. doi: 10.3390/polym13081296.

Authors

Abdulhakim Almajid^{1

2}, Rolf Walter³, Tim Kroos³, Harri Junaedi¹, Martin Gurka³, Khalil Abdelrazek Khalil⁴

Affiliations

¹ Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia.
² Engineering Management Department, College of Engineering, Prince Sultan University, P.O. Box 66833, Riyadh 11586, Saudi Arabia.
³ Institute for Composite Materials (IVW GmbH), Technical University of Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
⁴ Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates.

Abstract

Composite processing and subsequent characterization of microfibrillar composites (MFC) were the focus of this work. Compression molding of wound MFC filaments was used to fabricate MFC composites. The MFC composites were composed of polypropylene (PP) as matrix materials and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as reinforcement fibers. The PP/PET blends were mixed with PET contents ranging from 22 wt% to 45 wt%. The effect of processing parameters, pressure, temperature, and holding time on the mechanical properties of the MFCs was investigated. Tensile tests were conducted to optimize the processing parameter and weight ratio of PET. Tensile strength and modulus increased with the increase in PET content. PP/45 wt% PET MFC composites properties reached the value of PP/30 wt% GF. Falling weight tests were conducted on MFC composites. The MFC composites showed the ability to absorb the impact energy compared to neat PP and PP/30 wt% GF.

Keywords: PP/PET microfibrillar composites; automotive components; recycling; waste management.