Recycling of high density polyethylene containers

1997

The recycling of homogeneous high density polyethylene from containers for liquids gives rise to materials having mechanical properties that are strongly dependent on the reprocessing apparatus and the processing conditions. The thermomechanical degradation during processing gives rise to different modifications of the structure depending on the temperature, residence time and applied stress. In general, it is possible to say that if the reprocessing operations are carried out in apparatus with low residence time, the mechanical and rheological properties of the raw materials are only slightly influenced by the recycling operations. Significant degradation phenomena and reduction of some me…