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Effects of Reprocessing on Acrylonitrile–Butadiene–Styrene and Additives

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Abstract

Acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) is one of the most extensively used engineering polymers. It is necessary to study the recycling of ABS because of environmental, economic and energy reasons. In this study, an ABS resin was processed using a torque rheometer at different temperatures and for different numbers of cycles. Pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was used to study the effects of the processing parameters on additives. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) were used to analyse the structural changes in the resin. GPC results showed that after processing at 290 °C using the torque rheometer, large size soluble polymeric components increased. The increase in the large size soluble polymeric components after processing at 290 °C was probably related to the crosslinking reactions in the grafted polybutadiene. Furthermore, chemical analysis of the ABS resin samples after multiple extrusion cycles in a twin-screw extruder indicated that reprocessing considerably affected the ABS resin.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the following people for their assistance: Keith Smith at Cardiff University and David H. Isaac at Swansea University in United Kingdom; Shan Hu and her students, Yifan Chen, et al. at China University of Geosciences; Wenyi Chen at Wuhan University of Technology; Hong Cheng at Huazhong University of Science and Technology; Yingjie Shi and Haiyan Liu at Beijing Center for Physical and Chemical Analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Xiaojuan Bai

  2. Analytical and Testing Center, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Ping Liang

  3. Beijing Center for Physical and Chemical Analysis, Beijing, 100094, China

    Mei Zhang

  4. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Shiqiong Gong & Lihua Zhao

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  1. Xiaojuan Bai
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Correspondence to Xiaojuan Bai.

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Bai, X., Liang, P., Zhang, M. et al. Effects of Reprocessing on Acrylonitrile–Butadiene–Styrene and Additives. J Polym Environ 30, 1803–1819 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-021-02314-z

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