scholarly journals Recycling and Reprocessing of Thermoplastic Polyurethane Materials towards Nonwoven Processing

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastian Wölfel ◽  
Andreas Seefried ◽  
Vincent Allen ◽  
Joachim Kaschta ◽  
Christopher Holmes ◽  
...  

Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) is a unique tailorable material due to the interactions of hard and soft segments within the block-copolymer chain. Therefore, various products can be created out of this material. A general trend towards a circular economy with regards to sustainability in combination with TPU being comparably expensive is of high interest to recycle production as well as post-consumer wastes. A systematic study investigating the property changes of TPU is provided, focusing on two major aspects. The first aspect focuses on characterizing the change of basic raw material properties through recycling. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and processing load during extrusion indicate a decrease in molar mass and consequently viscosity with an increasing number of recycling cycles. This leads to a change in morphology at lower molar mass, characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and visualized by atomic force microscope (AFM). The change in molar mass and morphology with increasing number of recycling cycles has an impact on the material performance under tensile stress. The second aspect describes processing of the recycled TPU to nonwoven fabrics utilizing melt blowing, which are evaluated with respect to relevant mechanical properties and related to molecular characteristics. The molar mass turns out to be the governing factor regarding mechanical performance and processing conditions for melt blown products.

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 2706
Author(s):  
Minghui Xu ◽  
Xianming Lu ◽  
Ning Liu ◽  
Qian Zhang ◽  
Hongchang Mo ◽  
...  

In order to enhance the application performance of glycidyl azide polymer (GAP) in solid propellant, an energetic copolyurethane binder, (poly[3,3-bis(2,2,2-trifluoro-ethoxymethyl)oxetane] glycol-block-glycidylazide polymer (PBFMO-b-GAP) was synthesized using poly[3,3-bis(2,2,2-trifluoro-ethoxymethyl)oxetane] glycol (PBFMO), which was prepared from cationic polymerization with GAP as the raw material and toluene diisocyanate (TDI) as the coupling agent via a prepolymer process. The molecular structure of copolyurethanes was confirmed by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (ATR–FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (NMR), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The impact sensitivity, mechanical performance, and thermal behavior of PBFMO-b-GAP were studied by drop weight test, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS), tensile test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. The results demonstrated that the introduction of fluoropolymers could evidently reduce the sensitivity of GAP-based polyurethane and enhance its mechanical behavior (the tensile strength up to 5.75 MPa with a breaking elongation of 1660%). Besides, PBFMO-b-GAP exhibited excellent resistance to thermal decomposition up to 200 °C and good compatibility with Al and cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (HMX). The thermal performance of the PBFMO-b-GAP/Al complex was investigated by a cook-off test, and the results indicated that the complex has specific reaction energy. Therefore, PBFMO-b-GAP may serve as a promising energetic binder for future propellant formulations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emerson C. G. Campos ◽  
Cristiano Zanlorenzi ◽  
Bruno F. Nowacki ◽  
Gabriela M. Miranda ◽  
Denis A. Turchetti ◽  
...  

This work reports the synthesis and characterization of a conjugated polymer based on fluorene and terpyridine, namely, poly[(9,9-bis(3-((S)-2-methylbutylpropanoate))fluorene-alt-6,6′-(2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridin-6-yl)] (LaPPS71). The structure was characterized by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The molar mass was measured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). As thermal characterization, the glass transition temperature (Tg) was measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The polymer structure contains two sites capable of complexation with metallic ions, affording the possibility of obtainment of independent or electronically coupled properties, depending on the complexation site. The photophysical properties were fully explored in solution and solid state, presenting ideal results for the preparation of various metallopolymers, in addition to potential application as a metamaterial, due to the presence of the chiral center in the side chains of the polymer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Feuillerat ◽  
Olivier De Almeida ◽  
Jean-Charles Fontanier ◽  
Fabrice Schmidt

The effects of PEEK degradation on consolidation of commingled semi-finished products have been investigated. Two commingled semi-finished products provided by two different suppliers have been studied and compared to a powdered fabric based on the same PEEK grade. Both were manufactured from aligned AS4 carbon and PEEK yarns but the first product referred as the NCF1 has a lower commingling level than the second one identified as the NCF2. Contrary to what could be expected, under the same processing conditions, consolidation of the NCF1 and the NCF2 systematically results in a high porosity content, above 10%. Fourier Transform Infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR) in ATR mode and Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) have shown small molecular structure modifications of PEEK yarns compared to the raw material, such as a shift of molar mass distributions towards lower molar mass and the appearance of C-H absorption bands attributed to non-aromatic alkanes. These modifications have been attributed to sizing of PEEK filament. Calorimetric (DSC) and rheological analyses have demonstrated that the presence of sizing in the semi-finished products have huge consequences on the degradation kinetics. The crystallization temperature decreases and the viscosity increases significantly. This acceleration of the degradation kinetics is the reason of the poor consolidation behavior during composite manufacturing. The conditions of melt spinning extrusion under which the neat PEEK is transformed into filament are therefore a key factor of PEEK degradation.


Author(s):  
Juan Villavicencio ◽  
Ferley Orozco ◽  
Ricardo Benitez ◽  
Jaime Martin ◽  
Giovanni Rojas

Polyesters of xylitol and succinic acid were prepared yielding from 70 to 75% by enzymecatalyzed esterification using a molar mass from 1:1 to 2:5 at 120 and 140 °C employing from 1 to 10% m/m of enzyme. Control over branching degree was achieved by tuning the reaction conditions (temperature, time, comonomer ratio, enzyme content). This one-step process from renewable starting materials avoids protection-deprotection techniques, as well as the use of toxic solvents by introducing limonene as solvent for polyesterification for the first time. All materials were structurally characterized by infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)spectroscopy, their thermal properties were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and the molecular weight of samples were obtained by gel-permeation chromatography (GPC).


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Naser M. Al Andis

The polymerization of two monomers 2,6-dimethylphenol and 2,6-diphenylphenol was carried out by an oxidative route in the presence of Cu(I) as a catalyst and amine complex as a solvent assisted by microwave heating. The synthesized polymers were characterized by NMR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). It was observed that this process of polymerization gives high yield (98 wt%) of poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) and poly(2,6-diphenyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPPO) with a molar mass of 1180 (M¯n), 1400 (M¯w) and 28000 (M¯n), 46500 (M¯w) gm/mol, respectively. A negligible amount of diphenoquinone was also observed and its dispersity was rather moderate, 1.17 and 1.68, respectively.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaclyn Schachtner ◽  
Michael Frohbergh ◽  
Noreen Hickok ◽  
Steven Kurtz

Lumbar fusion surgery has grown in popularity as a solution to lower back pain. Surgical site infection (SSI) is a serious complication of spinal surgery, affecting as high as 8.5% of the patient population. If the SSI cannot be eradicated with intravenous antibiotics, the next step is second surgery, which increases the cost imposed on the patient and extends recovery time. An implantable ultrasound-triggered polyether ether ketone device for the dispersal of antibiotics has been developed as a potential solution. In this study, the device was constructed of bioabsorbable medical grade polymer, enabling gradual degradation, and manufactured via fused filament fabrication (FFF). A novel bioabsorbable filament was manufactured and validated with gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The filament was consistent in molecular weight and thermal properties (p = 0.348 and p = 0.487, respectively). The filament was utilized for FFF of the device. Dimensional accuracy of the device was assessed with μCT analysis. Dimensional differences between the printed device and intended design were minimal. Degradation of raw material, filament, and the device was performed in accordance to ASTM F1635-16 for a month to determine how melting the material impacted the degradation properties. The degradation rate was found to be similar among the samples weeks one through three however, the raw material degraded at a slower rate by the final week (p = 0.039). This study demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing medical grade bioabsorbable polymers in FFF.


2020 ◽  
Vol 993 ◽  
pp. 654-661
Author(s):  
Xue Fang ◽  
Gui Ming Su ◽  
Hai Jian Jiang ◽  
Yu Liang Ma ◽  
Mei Hui Song ◽  
...  

In this paper, we treated MWNTs by Fendon oxidation method and mixed acid method, finding the factors of functionalized effect affecting MWNTs. And added MWNTs treated to PI matrix for the study of the impact of MWNTs treated on thermal properties of the films. We using 3,3/,4,4/-diphenyl ether tetraacid dianhydride (ODPA) and 4,4'-diamino diphenyl ether (ODA) as raw material, mixing functional MWNTs and monomer by situ polymerization, then MWNTs / PAA hybrid glue was prepared. The molecular weight and distribution of the polyamic acid were measured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and the effects of different addition amounts on the product were examined. The PI/MWNTs films were prepared using an automatic film applicator, and finally the PI films were obtained by thermal imidization. The thermal behavior of the imidization process of the product was determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). The results showed that the PAA film has thermodynamic behavior at 150 ° C and 280 ° C approximately, which could be regarded as the kinetic interruption temperature of the imidization reaction. The dehydration cyclization reaction mainly occured in these two temperature ranges, moreover, the addition of MWNTs had no significant effect on the thermal decomposition temperature of the material which doping amount that does not affect the mechanical strength.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cevdet Kaynak ◽  
S Deniz Varsavas

The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of polylactide (PLA)-based materials shaped by the traditional injection molding technique versus three-dimensional (3D)-printing additive manufacturing. Comparisons were performed not only for neat PLA but also for its thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU) blend and for its E-glass fiber (GF)-reinforced composites. Performance comparison of the injection-molded and 3D-printed specimens was especially conducted to compare their mechanical properties (strength–modulus–toughness) by tensile, flexural, and fracture toughness tests. Other comparisons such as their macro-level appearances, fracture surface morphology, and thermal behavior were also performed by photographic images, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. It can be concluded that the use of 3D-printing in the shaping of neat PLA and PLA/TPU blend was generally very beneficial; on the other hand, due to the differences in the orientation of the GF reinforcements, there could be certain reductions in the mechanical performance of PLA/GF and PLA/TPU/GF composite specimens.


Author(s):  
Afzana Anwer ◽  
S. Eilidh Bedford ◽  
Richard J. Spontak ◽  
Alan H. Windle

Random copolyesters composed of wholly aromatic monomers such as p-oxybenzoate (B) and 2,6-oxynaphthoate (N) are known to exhibit liquid crystalline characteristics at elevated temperatures and over a broad composition range. Previous studies employing techniques such as X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) have conclusively proven that these thermotropic copolymers can possess a significant crystalline fraction, depending on molecular characteristics and processing history, despite the fact that the copolymer chains possess random intramolecular sequencing. Consequently, the nature of the crystalline structure that develops when these materials are processed in their mesophases and subsequently annealed has recently received considerable attention. A model that has been consistent with all experimental observations involves the Non-Periodic Layer (NPL) crystallite, which occurs when identical monomer sequences enter into register between adjacent chains. The objective of this work is to employ electron microscopy to identify and characterize these crystallites.


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