REINTEGRATION OF THERMOPLASTIC WASTE FROM THE AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR IN THE MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE OF COMPOUNDS FOR CAR BUMPERS

Abstract

The auto industry was challenged to improve its production efficiency. Attitudes such as reducing waste and adopting sustainable growth policies in the scenario of interest to managers. Following, then, the circular economy principle is currently the interest of the industry, an incorporation of waste generated in the raw material of the manufacture of new vehicle components, adding environmental and monetary value. In this sense, the present study aims to evaluate the feasibility of reintegrating the polypropylene (PP) waste, applied in the automotive industry and in the production cycle of raw material components used in the injection of bumpers (polypropylene with ethylene monomer) -propylene-diene (PP/EPDM)). It was performed the injection of PP/EPDM/load compounds with four different contents of recycled material (0, 10, 20 and 30%) in their compositions, for analysis of thermal and mechanical properties. The results of the mechanical tests demonstrated satisfactory performance with the addition of the recycled PP in all contents. The material became more tenacious, with greater capacity for absorbing energy on impact and therefore less rigid. Through the thermal deflection temperature test (HDT) it was possible to verify that 30% of recycled PP content made the material more susceptible to temperature, when subjected to mechanical stress restricting its application as a bumper. Therefore, under analysis of performance versus sustainability, limiting the incorporation of contents between 10% and 20% of recycled material seems to be the most suitable.