Evaluation of Cellulose and Glass Fiber in Recycled-Polyamide Thermoplastic Composites

Evaluation of cellulose and glass fiber in recycled-polyamide thermoplastic composites

Ian Tivendale1, Abdul Raheem1, Touqeer Haider1, Syed Mukarram1, Farhan Ahmad1, Leonardo Simon1, Talyta Torrezan2, Alper Kiziltas3 1University of Waterloo, 2Suzano Papel e Cellulose, 3Ford Motors

Society of Plastics Engineers – 2017 Automotive Composites Conference and Exhibition

1 INTRODUCTION

• A need exists to reduce weight of materials • Glass fibers are a major component in the formulation of thermoplastics • It improves stiffness and heat distortion temperature • Cellulose fibers are obtained from renewable sources (trees) • Eucalyptus trees have a fast growing cycle (about 7 years)

• Glass fibers have a higher specific gravity than cellulose fibers

http://www.ford.com/ • Cellulose fibers have the potential to reduce the weight of the automotive components leading to increased fuel efficiency

SPE-ACCE 2017 2 Goals and Objective

• Evaluate new sustainable materials to reduce the overall weight of automotive - Lightweight for fuel efficiency - Reduces vehicle cost - Lower the dependency on fossils fuels

• Specific objectives Evaluate Eucalyptus fiber and recycled-nylon Compare weight savings with glass fiber

http://www.suzano.com.br/ SPE-ACCE 2017 3 MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION

• Recycled polyamide (Kal-Polymers Inc) • Eucalyptus cellulose fiber (Suzano) • Glass fibers • Lubricant

Eucalyptus pulp sheets Glass fiber Recycled Polyamide

SPE-ACCE 2017 4 PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM SPE - ACCE 2017 ACCE

Processing Conditions Temperature(ᵒC) Hold timeHold (hours) Barrel Temperature( Residencetime (min) RPM (1/s)RPM Humidity % Injection molder Conditioning Extruder ᵒ 230- C) 55- 48 13 245 75 250 5- 7 5 FORMULATIONS Raw Material (%) Sample # Nylon Cellulose Glass Fibers Lubricant Sample 1 85 15 0 3 Sample 2 80 20 0 0 Sample 3 80 20 0 3 Sample 4 80 20 0 5 Sample 5 75 25 0 3 Sample 6 75 25 0 5 Sample 7 70 30 0 3 Sample 8 70 30 0 5 Sample 9 100 0 0 0 Sample 10* 100 0 0 3 Sample 10 100 0 0 3 Sample 11 75 18.75 6.25 3 Sample 12 70 22.5 7.5 3 Sample 13 75 12.5 12.5 0 Sample 14 70 0 30 3 SPE-ACCE 2017 6 DENSITY (g/cm3)

ay 27th 1.29 1.16 1.14 1.14 1.13 1.12 1.08 1.08 0.96 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 7 Sample 9 Sample Sample 10 Sample 11 Sample 12 Sample 13 Sample 14 Sample

Polyamide 80 80 70 100 100 75 70 75 70 Cellulose 20 20 30 0 0 18.75 22.5 12.5 0 Glass fibers 0 0 0 0 0 6.25 7.5 12.5 30 7 Lubricant 0 3 3 0 3 3 3 0 3 FLEXURAL MODULUS (GPa)

ay 27th 5.5 4.3 3.7 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.0 2.8 2.7 2.5 2.2 Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5 Sample 6 Sample 7 Sample 8 Sample 9 Sample Sample 10 Sample 11 Sample 12 Sample 13 Sample 14 Sample Sample 10* Sample Polyamide 85 80 80 80 75 75 70 70 100 100 100 75 70 75 70 Cellulose 15 20 20 20 25 25 30 30 0 0 0 18.75 22.5 12.5 0 Glass fibers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.25 7.5 12.5 30 Lubricant 3 0 3 5 3 5 3 5 0 3 3 3 3 0 3 8 SPECIFIC FLEXURAL MODULUS (MPa/gcm-3)

ay 27th 4.27 3.77 3.22 3.03 2.92 2.88 2.66 2.57 2.31 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 7 Sample 9 Sample 10 Sample 11 Sample 12 Sample 13 Sample 14

Polyamide 80 80 70 100 100 75 70 75 70 Cellulose 20 20 30 0 0 18.75 22.5 12.5 0 Glass fibers 0 0 0 0 0 6.25 7.5 12.5 30 Lubricant 0 3 3 0 3 3 3 0 3 9 Impact Strength (J/m) 80.8 59.9 54.9 52.3 50.9 42.3 40.9 40.2 38.1 36.5 33.1 29.9 26.6 25.5 28.4 Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5 Sample 6 Sample 7 Sample 8 Sample 9 Sample Sample 10 Sample 11 Sample 12 Sample 13 Sample 14 Sample Sample 10* Sample Polyamide 85 80 80 80 75 75 70 70 100 100 100 75 70 75 70 Cellulose 15 20 20 20 25 25 30 30 0 0 0 18.75 22.5 12.5 0 Glass fibers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.25 7.5 12.5 30 Lubricant 3 0 3 5 3 5 3 5 0 3 3 3 3 0 3

10 Sample 2 Sample 3 20 wt% cellulose 20 wt% cellulose 0 wt% lubricant 3 wt% lubricant SPE-ACCE 2017 11 Sample 2 Sample 3 20 wt% cellulose 20 wt% cellulose 0 wt% lubricant 3 wt% lubricant SPE-ACCE 2017 12 Sample 7 Sample 3 30 wt% cellulose 20 wt% cellulose 3 wt% lubricant 3 wt% lubricant SPE-ACCE 2017 13 Sample 7 Sample 3 30 wt% cellulose 20 wt% cellulose 3 wt% lubricant 3 wt% lubricant SPE-ACCE 2017 14 Sample 13 12.5 wt% cellulose 12.5 wt% glass

SPE-ACCE 2017 15 Sample 7 Sample 13 Sample 3 30 wt% cellulose 12.5 wt% cellulose 20 wt% cellulose 3 wt% lubricant 12.5 wt% glass 3 wt% lubricant

SPE-ACCE 2017 16 Sample 13 12.5 wt% cellulose 12.5 wt% glass

SPE-ACCE 2017 17 FORMULATION COMPARISONS

Flexural Modulus 7 - 70RN/0G/30C 1.0 0.9 0.8 11 - 75RN/12.5G/12.5C 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 12 - 70RN/7.5G/22.5C Izod Notched Impact 0.3 Density Strength 0.2 0.1 13 - 75RN/6.25G/18.75C 0.0

OmniLon™ PA6 GR13 Nylon 6, 13% Glass reinforced

OmniLon™ PA6 GR20 Nylon 6, 20% Glass reinforced Tensile Strain at Break Tensile Strength Tecamid® 6/6 Nylon 18 CONCLUSIONS

 Specific gravity analysis demonstrates that these samples achieve about 10% reduction in weight

 Eucalyptus cellulose fiber is a viable material that can be incorporated into the manufacturing process to realize weigh savings

 Combinations of cellulose fiber and glass fiber presented the best balance of specific flexural modulus and impact strength

SPE-ACCE 2017 19 REFERENCES

 Buchenauer, Andrea. "Wood Fiber Polyamide Composites for Automotive Applications." MASc Thesis. University of Waterloo, 2016.  "Nylon Scrap Listings." http://www.recycle.net. Web.  Xu, Jiaxin. “Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Recycled Polyamide-Cellulose Fiber Composite.” MASc Thesis. University of Waterloo, 2016.  Marsh, George. "Next Step for Automotive Materials." Next Step for Automotive Materials. Materials Today, 4 Apr. 2003. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Kal-Polymer for donation of recycle polyamide sample. Financial support for this research was made available by Ford Motors Company and Suzano Papel e Celulose.

SPE-ACCE 2017 20