Purpose. A technology for the comprehensive processing of polymer and polymer-containing waste into composite polymer materials that improve the resistance of clothing and footwear to mechanical, thermal, and chemical influences.
Technical properties. Cutting element speed (depending on the polymer) n = 5000-9000 rpm. Total shredder power consumption N = 2.5 kW. Cutting blade thickness = 1.5 mm. Knife sharpening angle α = 180. Tooth angle β = 780. Tooth pitch t = 4.2 mm. Mixture heating temperature in the reactor during composite production, T = 100-150ºC for 15-30 min. (depending on the composition and purpose of the composition). Dissolver speed nд = 100 rpm. Pressure P = 101325 Pa. Melt dispersion time t = 30 min. + 1 wt. % aerosil-based aminoorganosilica and +2 wt. % ZrO2 +3 % Y2O3 (500 °C) or 2 wt. % ZrO2 +3 % Y2O3 (700 °C) or 2 wt. % amorphous zirconium hydroxide doped with yttrium ions (the amount of yttrium, calculated as oxides, is 3 mol%): Zr(Y)O(OH)2, the abrasion resistance of the coating increases by 1.38, 1.57, and 1.83 times, respectively.
Application area: Light industry enterprises in Ukraine.
Advantages: Provides a significant social effect due to a reduced environmental impact; reduces the energy consumption required for the destruction of polymer-containing waste and shortens its destruction time; enables the grinding of polymer-containing waste into fractions of a given size and shape; The proposed chemical modification of the structure of the resulting recyclates reduces the solution dispersion time and ensures high performance properties of the polymer composites.
Technical and economic benefits. Grinding polymer-containing waste by sequentially creating various stress-strain states in the material destroys it with lower energy consumption (a 12% reduction in energy consumption). Installing cutting elements of different shapes (teeth and knife) at right angles reduces the degradation time of the polymer materials, resulting in a further 10% reduction in energy consumption. The proposed chemical modification of the structure of the resulting recyclates, which involves determining the composition’s constituent components, reduced the solution dispersion time by 5 minutes, reducing energy consumption by 8%. Using this technology at Ukrainian light industry enterprises allows for economic benefits of several million hryvnias per year due to energy savings. The social impact achieved by reducing the environmental impact is significantly greater.
Description. Polymer-containing waste is processed in two stages. In the first stage, the material is broken down into particles of the desired size (250 µm) by creating a stress-strain state within it. To achieve this, the polymer material is placed in a shredding bin, from which it is dosed into a chamber where it is broken down by specially designed and manufactured cutting blades connected at a 90° angle. The blades have teeth on one side and knives on the other. In the second stage, the crushed polymer is processed into a composite, the desired properties of which are achieved by adding a plasticizer, fillers, and stabilizers. This process involves the gradual melting and mixing of the waste with the plasticizer and other components in a chemical reactor under constant stirring. Temperature conditions are determined by the composition of the polymer composite, and the process can occur in the range of 100 to 150°C.