Abstract:
HDPE is widely used and its consumption has increased continually: this translates into a large amount of solid waste produced. Recycling of such a waste has been perceived as a means for dealing with this environmental problem. It is however easier said than done, since properties of recycled HDPE articles are inferior to those produced from virgin resins. The worsening of the properties is a result of the included contaminants. One of the contaminants is the ink used in printing HDPE bottles. The main objective of this work is to study the effect of residual ink on the color characteristics, thermal and mechanical properties of re-extruded HDPE articles. A cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, was used to prepare samples with different degrees deinking: namely, 50% and 100% , respectively. The results showed that the presence of small amounts of residual ink had no significant effect on thermal and mechanical properties of re-extruded HDPE. However, presence of residual ink affected the color characteristics and the percent of crystallinity of re-extruded HDPE.
