Recycling of Waste Cross‐Linked <scp>EVA</scp> Using Electron Beam Crosslinking and Pulverizing Technology

ABSTRACT Waste crosslinked polymers are insoluble in solvent and do not melt in heat due to their three‐dimensional network structure. Therefore, not only the finished products but also the wastes generated during processing cannot be recycled and are all discarded, causing serious environmental pollution. In this study, a method for pulverizing a waste crosslinked polymer (WXP) and recycling it as a filler was designed. However, if the WXP powders are used as a filler for polymer resins, dispersibility may decrease, resulting in deterioration of processability, mechanical properties, and thermal characterization. Therefore, two critical factors in this study are improving the compatibility between WXP powders and polymers to enhance the mechanical and thermal properties of the recycled polymer. In addition, the mechanical and thermal properties are further improved by using radiation crosslinked technology. This study utilized electron beam irradiation (EBI) and compatibilizers to innovate recycling methods for blending waste crosslinked ethylene vinylacetate (WX‐EVA) with polyethylene (PE). Incorporating the compatibilizer significantly increased the tensile strength from 11.7 to 16.6 MPa, by approximately 40%. Specifically, when irradiated at 100 kGy with uniform WXP powders, the elongation at break was maintained at over 500%, while the tensile strength improved by approximately 80%, reaching 21 MPa. The WX‐EVA/HDPE blends showed enhanced performance, suggesting that this approach could be applied to the recycling of waste crosslinked polymers, promoting sustainable materials management.