PRoVE-Recycling Project

Plastics Reprocessing Validation Exercise

Project Summary

June 2003

Introduction The PRoVE-Recycling project was initiated by the CARE Group (Consortium for Automotive Recycling) together with the Automotive Recycling Task Force of the British Plastics Federation to develop and validate generic specifications for engineering quality plastics containing recyclate for use in the automotive industry. Partial funding was secured from the Department of Trade and Industry under the DTI Recycling Programme. The project culminated in 2003 with the publication of a portfolio of fully tested and validated generic specifications for automotive grade engineering quality plastics containing a minimum of 25% post-consumer plastics.

The materials were fully tested to the specifications and recyclate to these was moulded into certain automotive parts and other applications. The generic specifications for engineering quality plastics containing recyclate for use in the automotive industry provide the basis of an industry wide norm, building confidence in products made from material which meets these specifications and ensuring good communication and understanding of requirements between the different sectors in the automotive supply chain.

The project has drawn support from the UK motor manufacturers (SMMT) and the plastics industry, including raw material manufacturers, converters, 1st tier suppliers, moulders, recycling companies, as well as vehicle dismantlers and shredders. There are 3 distinct parts to the project: § the creation of generic standards through information gathering and in-depth discussions with interested parties from all stages of the automotive chain from raw material manufacturers through to end of life shredders; § the testing and validation of the materials containing recycled plastics against these generic standards; and § the dissemination of information via website, workshops, seminars, and a conference to launch the final report containing the portfolio of specifications and case studies .

In addition, the outcome of the project has provided information on identification of grades and types of post-use recycled plastics that could be available to the automotive industry. It has also shown typical applications where they could be used; and performance criteria for each material, the test to be used, the limits of acceptance, the reason for the parameter being requested and associated relevance.

Materials dealt with during the project were talc filled polypropylene at 20% and 40%, a high density polyethylene blow moulding grade, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polyamide 66; all containing 25% recycled material which was mainly automotive post-consumer waste plastics. A rubber modified polypropylene EMPP made from 100% recycled material was also studied. Wherever possible, demonstration components have been produced from the test materials in order that the generic specifications are fully tested and material processing/service properties can be assessed.

The full project report, is available on the project website www.prove-recycling.org or from the British Plastics Federation 6 Bath Place Rivington Street London EC2A 3JE from the end of June 2003.

2 Background

The automotive sector is under increasing pressure from several fronts to use recycled materials in the construction of new vehicles. The main pressure derives from the implementation of the EU Directive on End of Life Vehicles, while environmental pressures come from the organisations themselves in terms of environmental policies and management systems, and from stakeholder pressure and the ‘green lobby’. As a consequence car manufacturers have a strong desire to use increasing volumes of recyclate. As the trend of light-weighting and emissions reduction continues, the volume and contributory weight of plastics within vehicle manufacture will continue to increase.

Currently, vehicles that have reached the end of their lives are generally either taken to a dismantler or to a shredder, where any useful or saleable parts and the metallic content is removed whilst the remainder is sent to landfill. As the metallic content of the vehicle is generally recognised to be about 73% of the vehicle weight, it is clear that the currently recycled portion of approximately 72-75% is largely metallic in content. The other 2% is of variable material content but usually results from the reuse of vehicle parts, and can sometimes include items such as battery casings (polypropylene plastic). Studies have shown that the average age of end of life vehicles is 12-14 years.

According to the Directive of the European Commission on End-of-Life Vehicles (2000/53/EC) by 2006 at least 85% of a vehicle must be re-used, recycled or recovered and by 2015 this figure will rise to 95%.

Plastics are the second most widely used materials in the vehicle manufacturing process - currently in the order of 12% (excluding elastomeric components such as tyres and door seals, or approximately 18% if they are included). All future projections suggest use of plastics in vehicles will rise due to their versatility, ease of use, and light weight contributing to decreases in fuel consumption. Therefore, if all the metal and plastics were recycled, the target set for 2006 would be achieved with only a further 4% of material weight needing to be removed from the ELV to ensure legislative targets are met for 2015. The projected figure for plastics waste entering landfill sites in the UK from end of life vehicles (ELVs) for the year 2002 is 195,000 tonnes. Current trends indicate that this will continue to increase.

Even with the desire to use more recycled plastics, not to mention the legislative requirements, the growth in recyclate usage has not reached the levels aspired to by many companies. Most of the barriers encountered within the automotive plastics supply chain are due to perceptions of quality, appearance and specification, volumes of supply, and potential cost implications in terms of capital investment and labour costs.

The purpose of the PRoVE-Recycling project was to demonstrate that, given the correct procedures, many of these perceptions are generally unfounded.

The PRoVE-Recycling project has set out to demonstrate that generic specifications can be drawn up for a range of automotive engineering grade plastics containing at least 25% recyclate combined with a maximum of 75% virgin automotive grade materials. The recyclate has been largely sourced from plastics taken from end-of-life vehicles and is all post-consumer waste. These generic specifications have been 3 tested and validated by independent organisations and further demonstrated by producing a range of demonstration test pieces and some genuine vehicle components from grades containing recycled plastics. These material grades and components meet standard automotive specifications and meet the car manufacturers’ performance criteria and are fit for purpose.

This portfolio of validated specifications for materials containing recycled plastics contribute towards an industry wide norm providing confidence in the product and ensuring good communication and understanding of requirements between the different sectors in the automotive supply chain. Each Automotive Manufacturer OEM has different specifications for intrinsically the same material over many applications. To get OEM approval recyclers need to submit test results of their material. Duplicated over several manufacturers this can be a lengthy and costly experience. Similarly, recyclers have frequently set their own standards - again all different - with no guarantee that they will meet the OEM market standards.

Design engineers and manufacturers within the automotive industry will only choose recycled plastics if they have absolute confidence in the material and its appropriate use in specific applications. The creation of generic recycled plastics specifications will help to provide an important bridge between automotive manufacturers and their suppliers as they will provide evidence of the recycled plastics materials’ capabilities. These specifications coupled with demonstration components manufactured using recyclate, will validate the materials’ usefulness to the automotive industry ensuring use with confidence.

This project aims to provide specifications that can be used as a basis for standards across the industry. Where there is no scientific or engineering reason for the differences between OEM specifications a single generic specification - agreed to by all manufacturers - will speed up the process and aid recyclate take-up. This will prove invaluable to both recyclers and the automotive industry.

General Information

For demonstration purposes a major motor manufacturer and their suppliers kindly offered to mould 2 genuine automotive components from the 25/75 ProVE generic specification materials. These were air filter housing units made of 40% talc filled PP; and radiator grilles made from ABS. The air filter housing units are current production parts while the radiator grilles are current service parts. The materials were successfully moulded without having to make any changes to tooling or processing conditions, which is a very important finding. Production runs of 150 Euro Test Pieces have also been successfully moulded from each material and used in presentation box set packs to demonstrate the materials. Other mouldings have also been made.

The original remit of this project outlined that non-packaging post consumer plastics waste should be used throughout the test phase. Ideally all this material would have been sourced from the automotive (ELV) waste stream and in almost all cases this has been achieved. From the outset it was clear that minimising the amount of pre- processing would keep costs to a minimum. The level of pre-processing required varied due to the nature of the sourced recyclate. Some contaminants were found in certain materials as a result of their function within the vehicle during its service life. Other contaminants were found as a result of the method used for extraction and

4 sourcing such as in the case of the PP. As a result the level of pre-processing needed varied according to each material and its sourcing route.

A hand-held metal detector was purchased for use on the various sources of recyclate. On a commercial level this would be a more powerful instrument and several detection and removal phases would occur during a more automated segregation and collection process. Types of metal items generally found were screws, clips, staples, mountings, etc. The main issues concerning metal contamination occurred with the unwashed polypropylene samples.

In terms of granulation of the recyclate, a small granulator of a size suitable for R&D projects such as PRoVE was used to reduce the size of some of the sourced plastic from large chunks or part components to granules of approximately 3-5mm in diameter. Some granulation was also done by the independent organisation tasked with the physical testing of the materials.

Initially none of the sourced materials were washed. This was to ensure that pre- processing and any additional costs were kept to a minimum. However in the latter part of the project both the recyclate for the 20% and 40% talc filled polypropylene compounds were washed and dried before moulding and testing. This enabled comparison of test results and showed whether there were any significant gains to be made to the material properties by adding the wash phase. All materials, recyclate, virgin and compounded, (with the exception of polyamide) underwent a normal drying process before processing and moulding, as per good practice for materials that have been exposed to the atmosphere for some time. The polyamide underwent a different regime from the other materials, as described below.

Virgin materials

It was necessary to source virgin material for the project in order that the recyclate could be mixed with automotive engineering grade virgin materials at 25% recyclate with 75% virgin. This was in order to meet the PRoVE-Recycling Project specifications. Automotive manufacturers involved with the project suggested target end-use components and provided details of the virgin materials used for those components. Several polymer producers kindly supplied these engineering plastics automotive grades for the project.

Recyclate and Results

Polypropylene

The materials were compounded up to batches of 20% and 40% talc filled PP. The expectation was that the highly mixed shredder residue sourced material might mean that the specifications might not be met. In the event, the outcome was that the 25/75 PP compounds (both 20% and 40% talc filled) performed well.

The Polypropylene (PP) recyclate material used within this project was sourced from automotive waste obtained from shredder residue, i.e. what remains of a vehicle following metal removal at a commercial shredder or fragmentiser plant. Most of the vehicles that are currently coming to the end of their useful lives are not built for disassembly so it is not easy to separate out the many different types of

5 polypropylenes. Large pieces of polypropylene were removed and sorted by hand from piles of light shredder residue fractions at the fragmentation plant.

A hand held metal detector was used to detect and remove pieces of metal that remained by manually passing over a metal detector head prior to granulation. Despite this a number of small metal items, such as staples from seat trim, were missed and remained in the samples. An unquantified amount of metal dust (similar in appearance to iron filings) also remained on the surface of the hand-sorted pieces of PP. The metal dust was detectable with a small magnet. It was noted that some of these small metal particles still remained in the final samples. Some metal dust was encapsulated into the final compounded granules but did not seem to have any effect on processing or moulding. Washing was successful in removing much of the remaining small metal particles. Our method of manual metal detection and separation was not fully successful. On a larger scale process, more powerful in-line detectors and magnets could be used which would greatly reduce the contamination in the feedstock. The material was granulated on-site without any problem. The small soft metal items such as trim staples did not cause any problems at this stage but were generally chopped into smaller pieces.

At the independent Test House the material extruded and moulded into test pieces with no reported problems, however after processing, some metal dust was found clinging to the sides of the input hopper.

The mixture of PPs obtained from shredder residue was found to have a low average filler content (2.5-3%). Four batches of shredder residue were handled. Two portions were washed and dried prior to compounding to 40% and 20% talc fill while the other was sent straight, unwashed, for compounding with virgin automotive grade 40% and 20% talc filled polypropylene. The washing and drying cycle removed the metal staple fragments and also the metal dust and other general dust and dirt.

The materials were compounded up into batches of 20% and 40% talc filled PP each comprising of 25% recycled PP (washed or unwashed) and 75% virgin material. The purpose of this was to produce a uniformly blended material from the recyclate and virgin plastics. Although the virgin PPs used already had the correct percentage of filler present, additional filler was needed to boost the low filler content of shredder residue.

In terms of the washed samples, both the 20% and 40% talc filled materials were extruded without any problems for the manufacture of test pieces of the PRoVE compounded material. These moulded very successfully. In terms of the unwashed samples, the first batch of shredder residue material was able to be compounded to the 40% talc filled PRoVE specification, however there were some initial problems and down-time on the line due to the presence of some small metal fragments which were caught in screens which therefore needed regular replacing. Extrusion and pelletising were successful as the metal inclusions had been largely removed by the initial screening process. However, a large number of individual compounded granules of this 40% talc grade nevertheless contained some metal dust or tiny fragments and these granules were detectable by magnet.

It must be noted, however, that once pelletised, this material containing metal was successfully moulded into test pieces and final demonstration kit samples and processed with no further problems. The second batch of shredder residue sourced material was more thoroughly checked and metal detected. Consequently there were 6 no obvious problems other than some metal dust on the hopper of the unwashed sample.

PRoVE Compound Results

The 25/75 PP compounds 25% recyclate and 75% virgin polymer (both 20% and 40% talc filled) performed very well and therefore vehicle manufacturers now have the knowledge that they can use recycled PP from the ELV waste stream back into their new vehicle components. There was some contamination of the PP with other plastics but this was minimal and caused no problem in the final compound.

40% talc filled compound The main areas where the material had discrepancies from the specification was in elongation at yield, melt flow index and fog number. Washing only gave marginal improvements to the difference in fogging. A low fog number generally means there is more contamination and may mean the material is less crystalline. Components used internally for applications such as trim items must perform well on the fogging index, however this is not important for under-bonnet applications.

PROPERTY METHOD UNIT DRAFT RANGE Unwashed Washed C8619 7069S Melt Flow Index at ISO 1133 g/10min 15 7.3 3.3 230ºC Ash Content ISO 3451- 1A % 37 40.3 38.7 (30min@550ºC) Specific Gravity ISO 1183/A g/cm3 1.25 1.26 1.24 Flexural Modulus ISO 178 MPa 3000 min 3450 3190 Flexural Modulus at ISO178 MPa 125 min 129 129 140ºC Flexural Yield ISO 178 MPa 35 min 36.6 37.7 Strength Flexural Yield ISO 178 MPa 3 min 3.48 3.24 Strength at 140ºC Tensile Strength at ISO 527 MPa 22 min 23.0 23.7 Yield Tensile Strength at ISO 527 MPa 5 5.01 4.81 Yield at 120ºC Tensile Strength at ISO 527 MPa 2 2.34 2.19 Yield at 140ºC Tensile Strength at ISO 527 MPa 23 min 23.0 23.7 Max Load Elongation at Yield ISO 527 % 2 - 5 1.6 2.2 Elongation at Yield at ISO 527 % 7 7.1 7.7 120ºC Elongation at Break at ISO 527 % >150 >190 >180 140ºC Notched Izod Impact ISO 180/A kJ/m2 2 min 3.9 4.1 Strength at 23ºC Notched Izod Impact ISO 180/A kJ/m2 1.6 min 2.8 2.9 Strength at 10ºC Notched Izod Impact ISO 180/A kJ/m2 1.5 min 2.2 2.3 Strength at – 20ºC Notched Izod Impact ISO 180/A kJ/m2 1.4 min 2.2 2.2 Strength at – 40ºC Heat Distortion ISO 75 ºC 105 min 110 107 Temperature (Bf) Heat Distortion ISO 75 ºC 65 min 64 63 Temperature (Af) 7 Coefficient of Linear ASTM D696 per ºC 50 41.4 70.3 Thermal Expansion Flammability ISO3795 mm/min 100 max 11 0 Mould Shrinkage ISO 294- 4 % 0.5- 0.9 0.75- 0.50 0.75 - 0.56 24hrs@23ºC(Smp- Smn) Post Mould Shrinkage ISO 294- 4 % - 0.11- 0.12 0.3- 0.3 48hrs@23ºC Total Mould Shrinkage ISO 294- 4 % - 0.86- 0.62 1.05- 0.86 at 23ºC (24+48) Post Mould Shrinkage ISO 294- 4 % 0.21- 0.15 0.20- 0.15 0.16- 0.16 48hrs@80ºC Post Mould Shrinkage ISO 294- 4 % 0.1- 0.3 0.40- 0.16 0.23- 0.07 30mins@120ºC Post Mould Shrinkage ISO 294- 4 % 0.1- 0.3 0.19- 0.27 0.18- 0.16 48hrs@120ºC Hardness, Durometer ISO 868 No 68 min 68 68 D Fog Number (1hr / SAE J1756 No 70 min 60/72 80/87 16hr)

20% talc filled compound

One of the samples of this material actually turned out to have an ash content of over 26% but was nevertheless tested against the 20% talc specification. This particular material did not meet as many of the criteria as the 40% material, in particular in the areas of tensile strength, flexural yield and shear modulus.

PROPERTY METHOD UNIT DRAFT RANGE LR7166B Sample 2 Melt Flow Index at 230ºC ISO 1133 g/10min 10.2- 13- 8 7.6 11.2 Ash Content (30min@550ºC) ISO 3451- 1A % 17.4- 23.6 22.3 26.6 Specific Gravity ISO 1183/A g/cm3 1.03- 1.07 1.10 1.12 Flexural Modulus ISO 178 MPa 2300 min 2300 2320 Flexural Modulus at 140ºC ISO178 MPa 550 min 133 103 Flexural Yield Strength ISO 178 MPa 31.2- 42.2 35 33 Tensile Strength at Yield ISO 527 MPa 21.7- 29.3 22.4 20.2 Tensile Strength at Max Load ISO 527 MPa 18.8- 25.3 22.4 20.2 Shear Modulus @ RT ASTM D4065 MPa 956- 1294 726 644 Notched Izod Impact Strength at ISO 180/A kJ/m2 3.25- 4.45 3.1 3.8 23ºC Notched Izod Impact Strength at ISO 180/A kJ/m2 1.7- 2.3 2.6 3.3 10ºC Notched Iz od Impact Strength at – ISO 180/A kJ/m2 0.85- 1.15 2.2 2.3 40ºC Heat Aged 500hr@120ºC, Izod ISO 180/A kJ/m2 +/- 25% 19.4 Change Heat Distortion Temperature (Bf) ISO 75 ºC 100- 130 93 102 Heat Distortion Temperature (Af) ISO 75 ºC 46.8- 63.3 57 61 Coefficient of Linear Thermal ASTM D696 per ºC 6.8- 9.2 x10- 5 6.0 x10- 5 5.3 x10- 5 Expansion Flammability ISO3795 mm/min 100 max 11.3 Mould Shrinkage 24hrs@23ºC(Smp- ISO 294- 4 % 0.85- 1.15 0.81- 0.56 0.25- 0.95 Smn) Post Mould Shrinkage 48hrs@23ºC ISO 294- 4 % - 0.18- 0.15 0.00- 0.00

8 Total Mould Shrinkage at 23ºC ISO 294- 4 % - 0.99- 0.71 0.25- 0.95 (24+48) Post Mould Shrinkage 48hrs@80ºC ISO 294- 4 % 0.2- 0.5 0.80- 0.33 0.11- 0.27 Post Mould Shrinkage ISO 294- 4 % 0.0- 0.5 0.14- 0.44 0.01- 0.01 30mins@120ºC Fog Number (1hr / 16hr) SAE J1756 No 90 min 74/81 53/77

Demonstration Pieces for Box Set The unwashed 40% talc and a washed 20% talc compounded PRoVE grade material were used to make 150 demonstration kit pieces for the demonstration boxes. There were no problems at all in the moulding of these Euro Test Piece articles.

Demonstration Components No automotive demonstration components were manufactured from the 20% talc material.

The 40% talc filled polypropylene grade at 25% washed PP shredder residue recyclate with 75% virgin polymer was sent to a moulder to manufacture air filter housings for a major UK motor manufacturer. The moulder was very happy with the way the material handled. In terms of processing, the material was simply dried as per usual practice and slotted into normal production runs without making any changes to the process conditions or running time of the machines or line. This in itself is a major finding of the project.

An Independent Test House compiled and conducted a series of tests to validate the performance of the air filter housings made from the 40% talc filled compound containing 25% PP from shredder residue. The test programme and conditions were devised following review of several OEM component specifications and discussions their engineers. The results showed that there were no obvious changes in either appearance or shape of the component and post-test visual examinations could find no evidence of indentations, cracks, fracturing, breakage or blistering on the surface.

Overall the results were very promising.

Rubber Modified Polypropylene (EMPP or PP+EPDM)

This was sourced from vehicle bumpers via dismantlers. There is currently an established route for recycling small quantities of EMPP from vehicles, so the mechanism was in place for reclaiming the bumpers from the ELVs. It was therefore relatively straightforward to source the quantities and quality of ready granulated material required. The bumpers were a mixed collection of painted and non-painted components.

Metal detection and granulation was performed by the supplier of the material which originated from parts collected from body shops following accident repair. The bumpers were chopped and granulated with no attempt to remove any existing paintwork. The paint was visible as small flakes or flecks within the granulated recyclate.

There were no problems in the manufacture of the test pieces and the material performed very well in the tests. It was therefore decided to proceed at 100% 9 recyclate and not to compound with virgin. This was the only material investigated where it was felt that the recyclate could be used for engineering plastics components at 100% recyclate.

PRoVE Compound Results

The material was used at 100% recyclate and therefore no compounding was carried out. However the material was extruded and pelletised in order to be used to mould the final test pieces and the demonstrator Euro Test Piece. The material processed well and met all the criteria, bar elongation at yield, set out in the draft specifications even whilst being used 100% recyclate with no additional virgin added. This shows that vehicle manufacturers can recycle EMPP components and re-use them in new components.

PROPERTY METHOD UNIT VALUE RANGE Actual 1 (02) Actual 2 (03) LR5845D LR7095S Flexural Modulus ISO 178 MPa 800 min 1130 1720 Flexural Modulus at 80ºC ISO 178 MPa 200 min 249 373 Flexural Yield Strength ISO 178 MPa 20 min 24.4 34.2 Tensile Strength at Yield ISO 527 MPa 16 min 16.7 22.2 Elongation at Yield ISO 527 % 25 min 3.9 3.9 Elongation at Break ISO 527 % min 30 17 Notched Izod Impact ISO 180 kJ/m2 2.5 min 35 5.0 Strength Notched Izod Impact ISO 180 kJ/m2 0.5 min 5.2 2.4 Strength at – 30ºC Heat Distortion Temperature ISO 75 (Bf) ºC 85 min 86 94 Filler Content ISO 3451- 1A % - - 8.5 13.5 Melt Flow Rate @ 230ºC ISO 1133 g/10mi - - 9.0 19 n

Demonstration Pieces for Box Set These demonstration pieces moulded very successfully.

Demonstration Components No demonstration automotive components were made.

Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS)

Initially it was thought that ABS would be difficult to source from the automotive industry, therefore an alternative source was found from discarded telephones. However an automotive waste stream was found that mainly consisted of trim parts and a second phase of material was sourced and tested on this automotive derived and unwashed waste ABS. These parts consisted mainly of items such as radiator grilles and bonnet trim which were then granulated.

Electronic Source The telephone material was sourced from shredded phone casings from an electronic equipment recycling plant. The shredding process was carried out on the same line as the shredding of computer CPUs. Because of this there was contamination of the 10 ABS by fragments of circuit boards and metal clips. Metal detection was carried out by spreading the shredded phone casings on plastic sheeting over an area of hard standing. This proved very successful, however on a larger scale trial there would be no cross-contamination with other materials. No washing was carried out as the material was intrinsically clean due to its source in life as office desk telephones. The normal drying routine was carried out prior to processing further.

Automotive Source This material was sourced from body repair shops and dealerships and consisted of interior and other trim items. These were items such as hard facia parts, door handles, wing mirror shrouds, etc. The items were hand sorted and any metal inclusions, clips or screws were removed and the material was chipped at source. No washing was carried out as the material was clean due to its source in life as mainly interior trim and decorative items. The normal drying routine was carried out prior to processing further. The material extruded and moulded into test pieces very successfully.

Results of Initial Basic Testing The results of the electronic sourced and automotive sourced materials were very similar. The ABS from electronic source was treated with flame-retardants, and it was anticipated that this might give rise to possible processing problems. However the flame retardant exists at a sufficiently low level that it does not adversely affect the properties of the 100% recyclate material.

The material came out very well from the tests. The flexural yield showed that the material is less flexible than the virgin grades and this was reflected in the fact that tensile strength at yield was greater, meaning that the material was stiffer than virgin grades.

PRoVE Compound Results

Both the electronic sourced and automotive sourced material were compounded to 25% recyclate with the same grade of virgin automotive engineering ABS. The purpose of this was to produce a uniformly blended material from the recyclate and virgin plastics. The processing of this compounded material was very good. Test pieces were moulded with ease despite some increased stiffness in the material.

Results for Compound with Electronic Material The ABS from the non-automotive source was treated with flame retardants, which was originally thought to give possible processing problems, however at 25% recyclate and 75% virgin the flame retardant exists at a sufficiently low level that it does not adversely affect the properties of the finished material. Further work would be needed to understand if and how the flame retardant may affect the properties of the finished material when higher concentrations of recyclate are used. However, identifying that this material can be successfully used at 25/75 concentrations in automotive manufacture is a major step forward.

This material generally slightly out performed the automotive recyclate.

Results for Compound with Automotive Material 11 The material performed well in the tests and therefore a major UK motor manufacturer offered to proceed with moulding a current service part radiator grille. It did drop down in terms of elongation at break and notched izod impact, but this was not considered important.

PROPERTY METHOD UNIT RANGE Sample 1 Sample 2 Electronic Automotive Melt Flow Index at 230ºC ISO 1133 g/10min 14.5- 19.6 - - Melt Flow Index at 220ºC ISO 1133 g/10min - 17.8 13.2 Specific Gravity ISO 1183/A g/cm3 0.74- 1.21 1.05 1.05 Flexural Modulus ISO 178 MPa 1370 min 2400 2410 Flexural Modulus at 80ºC ISO 178 M Pa 1450 min 1560 1680 Flexural Yield Strength ISO 178 MPa 40.4- 54- 6 68.2 65.1 Tensile Strength at Yield ISO 527 MPa 27.6- 37.4 46.2 41.6 Tensile Strength at Max Load ISO 527 MPa 29.8- 40.3 46.2 41.6 Elongation at Break ISO 527 % 10.6- 14.4 13 8.2 Shear Modulus at RT ASTM D4065 MPa 680- 920 838 773 Notched Izod Impact Strength ISO 180/A kJ/m2 15 min 16 9.4 Notched Izod Impact Strength at ISO 180/A kJ/m2 7 min 12 6.6 – 0ºC Notched Izod Impact Strength at ISO 180/A kJ/m2 4 min 7.4 4.4 – 40ºC Heat Distortion Temperature ISO 75 ºC 90 min 93 93 (Bf) Heat Distortion Temperature ISO 75 ºC 69.3- 93.7 81 82 (Af) VICAT Softening Point ISO 306 ºC 82- 112 98 105 Coefficient of Linear Thermal ASTM D696 per ºC 7.2- 9.8x10- 5 7.7x10- 5 7.5x10- 5 Expansion Flammability ISO 3795 mm/min 85- 115 17.6 22 Mould Shrinkage ISO 294- 4 % 0.5- 0.7 0.33- 0.23 0.38- 0.20 24hrs@23ºC(Smp- Smn) Post Mould Shrinkage ISO 2577 % - 0.12- 0.06 0.06- 0.05 48hrs@23ºC Total Mould Shrinkage at 23ºC ISO 294- 4 % - 0.45- 0.29 0.44- 0.25 (24+48) Post Mould Shrinkage ISO 2577 % 0.08- 0.40 0.29- 0.06 0.10- 0.04 48hrs@80ºC Fog Number (1hr/16hr) SAE J1756 No 90 91/94 93/92

Demonstration Pieces for Box Set The automotive sourced grade of material was used to make up the 150 demonstration pieces for the box set. These moulded very successfully.

Demonstration Components A radiator grille current service part was offered by a major UK motor manufacturer. With their moulder they agreed to process and mould the part. The moulder had no complaints at all about the material – it handled as 100% virgin.

An Independent Test House compiled and conducted a series of tests to validate the performance of the air filter housings made from the 40% talc filled compound containing 25% PP from shredder residue. The test programme and conditions were devised following review of several OEM component specifications and discussions their engineers. The results showed that there were no obvious changes in either 12 appearance or shape of the component and post-test visual examinations could find no evidence of indentations, cracks, fracturing, breakage or blistering on the surface. There was a slight colour fading upon completion of the weathering test on a Grey Scale Rating 4. However it must be noted that this is normally a painted component when on a vehicle.

Again overall the results were very promising.

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

The HDPE was sourced from washer bottles which were removed manually from ELVs prior to shredding. Two separate batches of HDPE were sourced from washer bottles that were removed manually from ELVs prior to shredding. Hand metal detection was carried out by passing each component over the head of the metal detector. This was successful in removing all the metal clips and other items. The material was then granulated on-site at source.

Manufacture of test pieces was very successful and the material performed very well.

PRoVE Compound Results

Compounding of both batches was carried out using the pelletised washer bottle recyclate mixed with a virgin automotive blow mould polymer grade. The virgin grade used was a powder and therefore the granulated washer bottles were stock blended with this at the compounding machine. No additives or fillers were added. Injection moulding from the pellets was very successful.

The full test programme showed that HDPE sourced from ELV washer bottles can successfully meet the original specifications at a ratio of 25% recyclate to 75% virgin material, other than for melt flow index. This was, however, not a problem for the injection moulding of test pieces and small components but further work may need to be done in this area. There was some variation between the compounded batches which would represent batch-to-batch variation of different fractions from the same large sample but this was not considered significant at this stage.

PROPERTY METHOD UNIT RANGE Sample 1 (02) Sample 2 (03) Melt Flow Index at 230ºC ISO 1133 g/10min 0.16- 0.41 16 14 Melt Flow Index at 190ºC ISO 1133 g/10min - 10.3 7.6 Specific Gravity ISO 1183/A g/cm3 0.946- 0.951 0.94 0.94 Flexural Modulus ISO 178 MPa 750 min 865 856 Tensile Strength at Yield ISO 527 MPa 19.6- 24.0 25.1 24.5 Tensile Strength at Yield ISO 527 MPa 38 38.4 37.7 at – 20ºC Tensile Strength at Yield ISO 527 MPa 5.4 min 8.93 8.40 at 95ºC Tensile Strength at Max ISO 527 MPa 22 25.1 24.5 Load Elongation at Yield ISO 527 % 7.6 13 17 Elongation at Yield - 20ºC ISO 527 % 6.6 6.6 8.6 Elongation at Break 95ºC ISO 527 % 14 >183 dnb Shear Modulus at RT ASTM D4065 MPa 250 285 295 Notched Izod Impact ISO 180/A kJ/m2 7.6 min 36 62

13 Strength Notched Izod Impact ISO 180/A kJ/m2 3.2 min 8.6 8.2 Strength at – 40ºC Heat Age (500h@120ºC) ISO 188 % +/- 15 9.9 11 TS at Max Load, Change Heat Distortion ISO 75 ºC 59 min 63 63 Temperature (Bf) Heat Distortion ISO 75 ºC 40 min 44 42 Temperature (Af) VICAT Softening Point ISO 306 ºC 75 min 84 85 Coefficient of Linear ASTM D696 per ºC 13.4 x10- 5 18.5 x10- 5 19.1 x10- 5 Thermal Expansion Flammability ISO 3795 mm/min 100 max 0 0 Stress Cracking ASTM D1693 Hrs 300 pass pass Resistance Durometer Hardness ISO 868 No 60 min 59 58 Fog Number (1hr / 16hr) SAE J1756 No 60 min 60/84 54/79

Demonstration Pieces for Box Set 150 items were successfully moulded, however it should be noted that the compound was a blow mould grade and is therefore not designed for injection moulding.

Demonstration Components Despite the good quality of the compounded material, no motor manufacturers were able to offer to mould demonstration components.

Polyamide (PA) 66

The PA was sourced from radiator end-caps from a variety of different ELVs as per the HDPE washer bottles. There were high levels of water and rust as well as glycol residues present. The removal of the end-caps from ELVs proved time consuming and attempting this on a larger scale process would be labour intensive. Visual detection was used to check for metal clips and inserts and then each piece was passed manually over a metal detector head. Due to the levels of residual rust present in many of the pieces it was necessary to re-set the sensitivity level of the detector. The material was successfully granulated.

The polyamide was not washed prior to processing. Due to the service history of the material as radiator end caps there were high levels of water and rust as well as glycol residues present. Polyamide is naturally hydrophilic in nature. It was decided that there could be potential problems in processing due to the volatility of the glycol. Therefore, prior to any further processing, investigations into the levels of water and other volatiles were made. As received, the ELV PA contained 2.4% moisture which is 12 times the <0.2% maximum recommended by virgin material suppliers. Drying in a dessicator for 4 hours at conditions which most moulders would be able to provide left around 1.3% moisture. Even after vacuum oven drying for 12 hours at 105°C the water content remained at over 0.5%. Additionally, 0.7-0.8% of ethylene glycol was found in the recyclate which probably does not come out on drying.

The first attempt at processing the material caused much foaming due to the high levels of volatiles. Following this an investigation of the amount of water and glycol in the material was carried out. After this, and a special drying process, it was decided 14 to progress to peletising and moulding the test pieces. The material did injection mould successfully into test pieces but would not extrude normally.

There were initial problems surrounding the PA, due to the perceived water, rust and glycol contamination of the components. Testing produced information regarding the moisture and glycol levels and showed that after conventional drying significant quantities of both remain. This renders the material unsuitable for extrusion compounding but it was possible to injection mould. Following extensive drying procedures as per 2.6.2.3 above, the material was found still to have a number of problems and discrepancies with respect to the specifications. However these were not considered too serious and it was decided to proceed with the compounding and full testing phase.

PRoVE Compound Results

The recyclate and virgin materials were stock blended at the injection moulding machine, blending by hand and dosing directly into the hopper. When compounded with virgin material the recyclate performed better, although it missed many of the required parameters. However it must be stated that the material selected for compounding with the recyclate was a mineral filled grade rather than a glass filled one. This gave us a number of the anomalies in the test results. Using a glass filled grade of virgin polymer would have improved the strength and tensile properties and should be investigated along with a washing and drying regime. It is believed that this would produce much more favourable results for this higher value material.

It is important to note that the material was successfully injection moulded into test pieces. Whether larger components would mould with same success is unknown as project did not proceed to this stage with this material. The level of contamination particularly of Glycol was minimal (0.2%) and therefore not considered to be a problem when compounded with Virgin PA at 25/75 levels.

PROPERTY METHOD UNIT RANGE Sample 1 Automotive Specific Gravity ISO 1183/A g/cm3 1.22 1.27 Flexural Modulus ISO 178 MPa 6672 min 4230 Flexural Yield Strength ISO 178 MPa 211 min 143 Tensile Strength at Yield ISO 527 MPa 156 88.1 Tensile Strength at Max Load ISO 527 MPa 155 min 88.1 Elongation at Yield ISO 527 % 3 min 3.9 Elongation at Break ISO 527 % 4.4 4.3 Shear Modulus at RT ASTM D4065 MPa 1602 105

Rockwell Hardness ASTM D785 No. 114 117(R) Notched Izod Impact Strength ISO 180/A kJ/m2 8.59 4.1 Notched Izod Impact Strength at – 40ºC ISO 180/A kJ/m2 5.95 3.7 Notched Izod – Moisture Cond. ISO 180/A kJ/m2 13.6 9.2 48h/50ºC Heat Aged 500hr@140ºC, Izod Change ISO 180/A kJ/m2 +/- 25% - 34 Heat Distortion Temperature (Bf) ISO 75 ºC 250 min 236 Heat Distortion Temperature (Af) ISO 75 ºC 220 min 92 Coefficient of Linear Thermal Expansion ASTM D696 per ºC 2.42x10- 5 4.79x10- 5 Flammability ISO3795 mm/min 85 0 Mould Shrinkage 24hrs@23ºC(Smp- ISO 294- 4 % 0.72 0.97- 0.92 Smn)

15 Post Mould Shrinkage 48hrs@23ºC ISO 294- 4 % - 0.07- 0.02 Total Mould Shrinkage at 23ºC (24+48) ISO 294- 4 % - 1.04- 0.94 Post Mould Shrinkage 48hrs@80ºC ISO 294- 4 % 0.021 0.16- 0.05 Post Mould Shrinkage 48hrs@120ºC ISO 294- 4 % 0.038 0.30- 0.08 Water Absorption (24hr immersion ISO 180 % 1.02 1.5 @23ºC)

Demonstration Pieces for Box Set These pieces were successfully moulded with no problems reported from the moulder.

Demonstration Components No automotive demonstration components were moulded as the material may not have processed sufficiently cleanly. This is an area that requires further research.

Conclusions This project has provided technical specifications that make it possible for recyclate to be considered as a viable material for use in manufacture particularly by the automotive sector.

The Prove-Recycling testing yielded positive results which show that recyclate from post-consumer non-packaging waste can be used in the manufacture of engineering components within the automotive sector. The materials have passed the existing requirements of the ELV directive and proposed UK legislation.

Further work is required in terms of repeatability of results on a wider scale. Greater sample size, increasing ratios of recyclate to virgin in the compounds would provide still further information to aid industry in the use of these materials. This project has been able to source materials on a small scale from known sources of automotive and other engineering grade waste plastics. Moving up to larger volume through-flow will require sensible and effective quality control mechanisms at various points in the process. Organisations within the automotive supply chain range from vehicle dismantlers and shredders to converters and moulders, logistical operators and final automotive clients. As they work together the process will become smoother and more reliable and confidence and assurance is likely to be gained both with the materials and in dealing with each other.

Overall the Prove-Recycling project has made important strides forwards in the field of plastics recycling in the automotive industry. It has given car manufacturers and their suppliers evidence that plastics recovered from End-of-Life Vehicles can be successfully used in car component manufacture. Prove-Recycling has provided a mechanism for the automotive industry to remove plastics from the waste stream destined for landfill, thus helping them fulfil their environmental aims and objectives as well as their legal obligations.

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