IMPACTS OF RECYCLED AIRCRAFT INTERIORS ON THE PROPERTIES OF OCEAN PLASTIC PET

This work studied the impacts of mechanically recycled aircraft interior (rAI) panels on the properties of recycled ocean plastic poly(ethylene terephthalate) (opPET). Panels from rAI were size-reduced into a multi-material mixture, compounded into opPET in four different concentrations, and then injection molded into specimens. Processability of the blends during compounding and injection molding is discussed. Thermal degradation characteristics from thermal gravimetric analysis follow a rule of mixtures relationship, where increasing rAI content increased char yield and decreased degradation onset linearly. Melt and crystallization properties measured from differential scanning calorimetry show similar melt temperatures but showed increased crystallization temperatures. Processing viscosity was measured using parallel-plate rheology, but no trend was observed. Blend mechanical properties measured in tension show significantly lower properties than neat opPET. A discussion and analysis using imaging techniques is included to understand this knock-down. Finally, density and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy were utilized to both understand and show potential recyclability at standard material recovery facilities. Density was minimally impacted by rAI. All four compounds were ranked as “highly confident” via a NIR sortation methodology. This work provides a baseline to the potential benefits and challenges of including rAI into recycled