Polypropylene (PP)/Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) compounding to optimize physical properties

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The present Engage project focuses on the analysis of the physical properties of the prototypical aliphatic polymer polypropylene (PP) and the directed modification thereof through chemical additives. The project partner Polymer Recycle Inc. is a company that manufactures PP for recycling. The company is a post-industrial plastic recycling company with R&D in Quebec and manufactures reduced-size plastics as finished products. Polymer Recycle Inc. strives to increase the toughness of its products to render them more resistant to the external force and deformation when they are casted by industrial customers.To that end, the company is interested in better understanding the influence of toughness and conductivity of PP on the quality. For this project, it is important to determine the toughness of PP as a function of the content of chemical additives. The samples provided by Polymer Recycle Inc. contain different amounts of various thermoplastic elastomers (TPE). The first goal of the project is determining which formulation and weight percentage of TPE in PP is required to optimize the toughness of PP. The second goal is exploring the impact of TPE admixture on the electrical bulk conductivity of PP, the increase of which is expected to be beneficial by the company in its recycling protocol.The analysis required for this project includes testing the toughness of the composites, analysing their opto-electronic/electrical properties, their rheology, as well as their phase behavior. The equipment for testing toughness is available at the company. The complimentary equipment required for characterizing rheological, opto-electronic, and electrical properties as a function of the additive content is available at Concordia University. The results of this project will be valuable for the quality improvement of the products of Polymer Recycle Inc.