265 A publication of CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS VOL. 83, 2021 The Italian Association of Chemical Engineering Online at www.cetjournal.it Guest Editors: Jeng Shiun Lim, Nor Alafiza Yunus, Jiří Jaromír Klemeš Copyright © 20 21 , AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. DOI: 10.3303/CET2183045 ISBN 978-88-95608-81-5; ISSN 2283-9216 Impact Strength and Morphology of Sustainably Sourced Recycling Polyethylene Terephthalate Blends Nur H. M. Rosmmi, Zahid I. Khan, Zurina Mohamad*, Rohah A. Majid, Norhayani Othman, Siti H. C. Man, Khairil J. A. Karim School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
[email protected] Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a semi-crystalline material that is widely used in the packaging industry, mainly in the production of bottles for beverages. Similar to other plastics, PET causes a problem in disposal as it remains in the environment for a long time. Most of the bottles are thrown away after a single usage, which worsens the disposal problem. Recycling is one of the best ways to reduce the problem of disposal. However, recycling reduces the mechanical and chemical properties of the PET. Factors such as moisture absorption, biological pollutants, oxidation, high temperature, and thermal degradation have reduced the molecular weight of PET. To improve the properties, recycled PET had been blended with Polyamide 11 (PA11) at different ratios of PET: PA11, 30:70, 50:50, and 70:30. A modified styrene/acrylic/epoxy chain extender (Joncryl) was added at 1 wt % in the blend to enhance the properties. The properties of recycled PET/PA11 blends were investigated in terms of mechanical and morphological aspects.