Toward sustainable wood–plastic composite foams fabricated via ternary blending of upcycled rigid poly(vinyl chloride) pipe, waste cling film and wood sawdust

Information from the abstract

This work aims to develop lightweight wood–plastic composite (WPC) foams from the ternary blends of post-consumer rigid poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) pipes, waste flexible PVC cling film and wood sawdust using azodicarbonamide (AC) as a blowing agent. The foamed WPCs were fabricated under closed-mold foaming conditions. The effects of AC content on the properties of the foamed WPCs were investigated. The flexible PVC cling film enhanced the processability of the foamed WPCs. Increasing the AC content to 3 wt% promoted gas generation and cell nucleation, thereby reducing the foam density and average cell size while increasing the cell density. The optimal foaming condition was achieved at 3 wt% AC, providing a foamed WPC with the most uniform cellular structure and the lowest density. Although foaming led to reductions in the tensile, flexural and impact properties due to increased porosity, the specific mechanical properties were generally maintained or improved. These results indicate an improvement in the mechanical strength-to-weight ratio. Dynamic mechanical analysis suggested optimal AC contents of 1 and 3 wt%, which produced well-developed cellular structures, thereby improving the viscoelastic response and damping performance of the foamed WPCs. The unfoamed and foamed WPCs exhibited comparable thermal stability, with similar major degradation temperatures and residue weights. Although the higher porosity increased water absorption, the foamed WPCs maintained acceptable thickness swelling. In summary, these findings demonstrate a promising pathway for upcycling plastic waste, reutilizing biomass and concurrently promoting the development of novel sustainable foamed WPCs in accordance with circular economy principles.

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Related topics: Natural Fiber Reinforced Composites · Polymer Foaming and Composites · Polymer crystallization and properties