Introduction to Polymer Compounding: Raw Materials, Volume 1 Dr. Muralisrinivasan Natamai Subramanian Introduction to Polymer Compounding: Raw Materials, Volume 1 Dr. Muralisrinivasan Natamai Subramanian A Smithers Group Company Shawbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 4NR, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)1939 250383 Fax: +44 (0)1939 251118 http://www.polymer-books.com First Published in 2014 by Smithers Rapra Technology Ltd Shawbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 4NR, UK ©Smithers Information Ltd., 2014 All rights reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this publication may be photocopied, reproduced or distributed in anyform or by any means or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission from the copyright holder. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. 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Contents Preface ........................................................................................ ix 1 Introduction ......................................................................... 1 References ............................................................................ 2 2 Polymer Materials ................................................................ 5 2.1 Classification ................................................................ 6 2.1.1 Thermoplastics Polymeric Materials ................. 6 2.1.2 Polyethylene ..................................................... 6 2.1.3 Polypropylene ................................................... 7 2.1.4 Polystyrene ....................................................... 8 2.1.5 Polyvinyl Chloride ............................................ 9 2.1.6 Biodegradable Polymers ................................. 10 2.1.6.1 Poly(ε-caprolactone) ........................ 11 2.1.6.2 Polylactic Acid ................................. 12 2.2 Engineering Polymers ................................................. 13 2.2.1 Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene ....................... 13 2.2.2 Polymethyl Methacrylate ................................ 14 2.2.3 Nylon ............................................................. 15 2.2.4 Polycarbonate ................................................. 16 2.2.5 Polyesters ....................................................... 16 2.2.5.1 Polyethylene Terephthalate ............. 17 2.2.5.2 Unsaturated Polyester Resins .......... 18 iii Introduction to Polymer Compounding: Raw Materials, Volume 1 2.3 Thermoset Polymeric Materials .................................. 18 2.3.1 Phenol Formaldehyde ..................................... 19 2.3.2 Epoxy Resins .................................................. 20 2.4 Summary .................................................................... 20 References .......................................................................... 20 3 Polymer and Additives ........................................................ 27 3.1 Classification of Additives .......................................... 27 3.2 Ageing and Degradation ............................................ 28 3.2.1 Stabiliser ......................................................... 28 3.2.1.1 Thermal Stabiliser ............................ 28 3.2.2 Antioxidants ................................................... 29 3.2.2.1 Degradation ..................................... 30 3.2.2.2 Ageing ............................................. 30 3.2.2.3 Ultraviolet or Oxidation .................. 31 3.2.3 Light Stabilisers .............................................. 32 3.2.4 Flame Retardants ........................................... 33 3.2.5 Smoke Suppressants ....................................... 34 3.3 Physical Properties Modification ................................ 35 3.3.1 Plasticisers ...................................................... 35 3.3.2 Lubricants ...................................................... 36 3.3.2.1 Internal Lubricants .......................... 37 3.3.2.2 External Lubricants ......................... 37 3.3.3 Nucleating Agents .......................................... 39 3.3.4 Processing Aids ............................................... 39 3.3.5 Mould-release Agents ..................................... 40 3.3.6 Curing Agents ................................................ 41 3.3.7 Slip Additives ................................................. 42 3.3.8 Antistatic Agents ............................................ 42 iv Contents 3.3.8.1 Internal Antistatic Agents ................ 43 3.3.8.2 External Antistatic Agents ............... 43 3.3.8.3 Ion Dispersion Agents ...................... 44 3.3.9 Antifogging Agents ........................................ 44 3.3.10 Coupling Agents ............................................. 45 3.3.11 Antimicrobial Agents ..................................... 46 3.4 Economics .................................................................. 47 3.4.1 Foaming Agents .............................................. 47 3.4.2 Fillers and Reinforcements ............................. 48 3.4.2.1 Calcium Carbonate .......................... 49 3.4.2.2 Reinforcements ................................ 49 3.4.3 Pigments ......................................................... 50 3.4.4 Colorants ....................................................... 50 3.5 Summary .................................................................... 51 References .......................................................................... 51 4 Polymer Blends ................................................................... 61 4.1 Polymer Blends .......................................................... 61 4.1.1 Morphology ................................................... 62 4.1.2 Physico-chemical Properties ............................ 63 4.1.3 Thermal Degradation ..................................... 63 4.2 Immiscible Polymer Blends ......................................... 63 4.3 Commercial Blends .................................................... 64 4.3.1 Polyolefin Blends ............................................ 64 4.3.2 Polystyrene Blends .......................................... 65 4.3.3 Polyvinyl Chloride Blends ............................... 65 4.3.4 Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene Blends ........... 67 4.3.5 Polymethyl Methacrylate Blends ..................... 67 4.3.6 Polyester Blends .............................................. 67 4.3.7 Polyamide Blends ........................................... 68 v Introduction to Polymer Compounding: Raw Materials, Volume 1 4.3.8 Polycarbonate Blends ..................................... 68 4.4 Waste Plastic Blends ................................................... 69 4.5 Summary .................................................................... 70 References .......................................................................... 71 5 Polymer Composites ........................................................... 77 5.1 Essentials of Polymer Composites .............................. 77 5.2 Thermoplastic Polymeric Composites ........................ 79 5.3 Thermoset Polymeric Composites .............................. 80 5.3.1 Fibre-reinforced Composites ........................... 80 5.3.1.1 Curing ............................................. 81 5.4 Applications ............................................................... 82 5.5 Polyolefin Composites ................................................ 83 5.6 Highly Filled Elastomers ............................................ 83 5.7 Polyamide 6 Composites ............................................ 84 5.8 Natural Fibre Composites .......................................... 84 5.9 Wood Plastic Composites .......................................... 85 5.10 Phenol-formaldehyde and Urea-formaladehyde ......... 86 5.11 Shortcomings ............................................................. 86 5.12 Summary ................................................................... 86 References .......................................................................... 87 6 Polymer Compounding – Requirements ............................. 93 6.1 Fundamentals of Compounding ................................. 93 6.2 Essentials of Compounding ........................................ 94 6.2.1 Ingredients ...................................................... 94 6.2.2 Formulation ................................................... 95 6.2.3 Morphology ................................................... 95 6.2.4 Polymer Melt .................................................. 95 6.2.5 Processing Requirements ................................ 96 6.2.6 Temperature ................................................... 97 vi Contents 6.3 Melt Compounding .................................................... 97 6.3.1 Masterbatch ................................................... 98 6.4 Blender Mixing .......................................................... 99 6.4.1 Compounding of Rigid Polyvinyl Chloride ..... 99 6.5 Devolatilisation ........................................................ 100 6.6 Importance of Compounding ................................... 101 6.7 Optimisation ............................................................ 101 6.8 Regrind ...................................................................