Effects of Recycling Cycle on Used Thermoplastic Polymer and Thermoplastic Elastomer Polymer

Due to several environmental problems arising through the disposal of polymers, recycling has been growing rapidly as one of the best approaches to minimize environment pollution issue. Apart from the positive impacts towards environmental sustainability, recycling polymer is also benefiting in terms of manufacturing cost reduction, energy conservation and material resource conservation. The aim of this study was to investigate how recycling cycle affects the physical properties and mechanical properties for both used thermoplastic polymer and thermoplastic elastomer polymer. Samples were prepared by melting used polymers via melt blending technique. Results showed that tensile strength and density were decreased for thermoplastic polymer and the changes in visual are significant when the number of recycling cycle was increased. Tensile strength, yield strength and Young Modulus of thermoplastic elastomer are independent from number of recycling cycles. Presence of antioxidant fillers in thermoplastic elastomer enhanced the tensile strength (28.23%) and Young Modulus (29.16%) when the polymers were exposed to ultraviolet light.