Structure and properties of closed-cell foam prepared from rPET

Nowadays, in the field of packaging technology, one-way polymer packaging materials are increasingly used. Food and packaging industry uses the most, the life cycle of which becomes short, they become waste very quick. Also included are light weight bottles of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Large amounts of waste can be handled with multiple options. The worst is their dumping on dump sites, as these materials do not compost. Their thermal recycling is more favorable due to their high calorific value, but a real cycle can only be achieved by their physical recycling. However, during the multiple re-purposing, PET's mechanical and processing properties are reduced. In our research, chemical foaming has been investigated, resulting in a smaller weight, better specific property, and fully reusable product. During our investigations, the structure and mechanical properties of recycled PET (rPET) specimens manufactured with different composition, chain and foam additives were analyzed. (paper)