Effect of recycling on rheological and mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid)/polystyrene polymer blend

A continued increase in the use of plastics has led to an increasing amount of plastics ending up in the waste stream; and the increasing cost of landfill disposal and public interest in support of recycling has meant that plastics recycling must increase. In this work, the effect of multiple extrusion and injection of poly(lactic acid)/polystyrene polymer blend (PLA/PS) on its rheological and mechanical properties is presented. Rheological properties were studied using a capillary rheometer, apparent shear rate (γ _a), apparent shear stress (τ _a), apparent viscosity (η _a), and flow activation energy were determined. The mechanical properties of the blend were investigated on dog bone-shaped samples obtained by injection molding, tensile tests were performed, stress at break, strain at break, and Young's modulus were determined. The results showed that the apparent viscosity of PLA/PS blend decreases monotonously with increasing the processing number. Also it was found that stress and strain at break of the blend decrease sharply after two processing cycles, whereas the processing number has a little effect on Young's modulus.