Abstract
To develop the utilization of recycled plastics made from fishing ropes waste, which have been drifted ashore on the seaside, mechanical and structural properties of the waste were analyzed. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and differential scanning calorimetry measurements revealed that the fishing ropes waste used in this study was composed of polyethylene (PE) fiber or a mixture of PE and polypropylene (PP) fibers. The mechanical properties of the recycled PE plastic substantially changed after different heat treatment condition, i.e., quenching at 0 °C or heating at 70 and 110 °C. The results showed that this recycled material became stiffer and more brittle as the crystallinity increased. In contrast, the mechanical properties of the recycled PE/PP plastic were not dependent on the heat treatment; the mechanical properties of this material remained relatively low regardless of the selected heat treatment. This observed lack of improvement occurred because PE and PP are non-compatible, so the structure inside the material was phase-separated. By adding ground rice hull (RH) as a modifier to the PE/PP resin, the elastic modulus of the composites increased substantially, whereas the degree of elongation decreased. The improvement in mechanical properties was remarkable for the composites containing an average RH particle diameter of 17 μm.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Isobe A (2018) Occurrence, transport, and fate of marine plastic debris (in Japanese). Mater Cycles Waste Manag Res 29:270–277
Matsuzaki Y, Sato K (2018) Efforts to combat marine litter in Japan and future tasks (in Japanese). Mater Cycles Waste Manag Res 29:278–285
Takada H (2018) A look at the microplastic pollution trends and possible solution frameworks (in Japanese). Mater Cycles Waste Manag Res 29:261–269
Utracki LA (1991) Polymer alloys and blends: thermodynamics and rheology (in Japanese). Tokyo Kagaku Dojin, Tokyo
Nielson LE (1976) Mechanical properties of polymers and composites (in Japanese). Kagaku Dojin, Kyoto
Starkweather HW, Moynihan RE (1956) Density, infrared absorption, and crystallinity in 66 and 610 nylons. J Polym Sci 21:363–368
Starkweather HW, Brooks RE (1959) Effect of spherulites on the mechanical properties of nylon 66. J Appl Polym Sci 1:236–239
Perego G, Cella GD, Bastioli C (1996) Effect of molecular weight and crystallinity on poly(lactic acid) mechanical properties. J Appl Polym Sci 59:37–43
Stael GC, Tavares MIB, D’Almeida JRM (2000) Tensile and flexural behavior of sugar cane bagasse waste reinforced EVA matrix composites. Polym Polym Compos 8:489–495
Elisabete F, Jane MFP, Wanderson GT, Ilce ATR, Sandra PT (2004) Plastics and composites from lignophenols natural fibers, plastics and composites. Springer, Boston, pp 193–225
Bouafif H, Koubaa A, Perré P, Cloutier A (2009) Effects of fiber characteristics on the physical and mechanical properties of wood plastic composites. Compos A 40:1975–1981
Šercer M, Raos P, Rujnić-Sokele M (2009) Processing of wood-thermoplastic composites. Int J Mater Form 2:721
Chandrasekhar S, Styanarayama K, Pramada GP, Raghavan NP (2003) Review processing, properties and applications of reactive silica from rice husk—an overview. J Mater Sci 38:3159–3168
Asano J, Kimura M, Takahashi T, Iizuka H (2010) Effect of resin impregnation on mechanical properties of rice hull silica carbon. Trans Mater Res Soc Jpn 31:173–176
Ahmad Fuad MY, Ismail Z, Mansor MS, Mohd Ishak ZA, Mohd Omar AK (1995) Mechanical properties and water absorption behavior of chopped rice husk filled polypropylene composites. Polym J 27:1002–1015
Ishitani T, Ohtsubo K (1995) The science of rice (in Japanese). Asakura Shoten, Tokyo, p 172
Taoda H, Hayakawa K, Kawase K, Kosaka M (1985) Thermal oxidative aging of polyethylene used as latent-heat-type thermal storage material. Kobunshi Ronbunshu 42:151–158
Kong Y, Hay JN (2002) The measurement of the crystallinity of polymers by DSC. Polymer 43:3873–3878
Lovinger AJ, Williams ML (1980) Tensile properties and morphology of blends of polyethylene and polypropylene. J Appl Polym Sci 25:1703–1713
Gu J, Xu H, Wu C (2013) The effect of PP and peroxide on the properties and morphology of HDPE and HDPE/PP blends. Adv Polym Technol 32:2132619
El-Hadi A, Schnabel R, Straube E, Müller G, Henning S (2002) Correlation between degree of crystallinity, morphology, glass temperature, mechanical properties and biodegradation of poly (3-hydroxyalkanoate) PHAs and their blends. Polym Test 21:665–674
Broz ME, Vander Hart DL, Washburn NR (2003) Structure and mechanical properties of poly(d, l-lactic acid)/poly(e-caprolactone) blends. Biomaterials 24:4181–4190
Brandrup J, Immergut EH, Grulke EA (1999) Polymer handbook, 4th edn. Wiley, New York
Kamiya D, Ikegami K (1995) Mechanical properties of glass reinforced epoxy resin for tensile, compressive and shear load at room temperature and at low temperature (in Japanese). J Jpn Soc Compos Mater 21:137–145
Fu SY, Lauke B, Mäder E, Yue CY, Hu X (2000) Tensile properties of short-glass-fiber- and short-carbon-fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites. Compos A 31:1117–1125
Fu SY, Feng XQ, Lauke B, Mai YW (2008) Effects of particle size, particle/matrix interface adhesion and particle loading on mechanical properties of particulate–polymer composites. Compos B 39:933–961
Premalal HGB, Ismail H, Baharin A (2002) Material properties Comparison of the mechanical properties of rice husk powder filled polypropylene composites with talc filled polypropylene composites. Polym Test 21:833–839
Yang HS, Kim HJ, Son J, Park HJ, Lee BJ, Hwang TS (2004) Rice-husk flour filled polypropylene composites; mechanical and morphological study. Compos Struct 63:305–312
Sato T, Hirata T, Takahashi S, Shishido M (2010) Preparation and mechanical properties of recycled thermoplastic composites with rice hull particles. Trans Mater Res Soc Jpn 35:929–932
Yang HS, Kim HJ, Park HJ, Lee BJ, Hwang TS (2007) Effect of compatibilizing agents on rice-husk flour reinforced polypropylene composites. Compos Struct 77:45–55
Maiti P, Nam PH, Okamoto M, Hasegawa N, Usuki A (2002) Influence of crystallization on intercalation, morphology, and mechanical properties of polypropylene/clay nanocomposites. Macromolecules 35:2042–2049
Coleman JN, Khan U, Blau WJ, Gun’ko KY (2006) Small but strong: A review of the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube-polymer composites. Carbon 44:1624–1652
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, KAKENHI Grant number JP16K04799.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sato, T., Shishido, M. Mechanical and structural properties for recycled thermoplastics from waste fishing ropes. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 22, 1682–1689 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-020-01062-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-020-01062-x