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Evaluation of alternative, sustainable polymer materials in regard to mechanical properties and sustainability

Axelsson, Hanna LU and Rudervall, Joaquin LU (2021) KASM15 20211
Centre for Analysis and Synthesis
Abstract
We live in a world where products are consumed at an ever increasing rate, and where responsibility for the waste created is seldom taken. Plastics are in many ways wondrous materials, but they put a big strain on the environment, both in production and as waste. Alternatives to the conventional, virgin fossil-based plastics have been available and emerging for some time now, for example seen in the recycling of PET bottles. The industry has been hesitant to implement them in engineering applications though, fearing they might not be up to standard. In this project, biobased and recycled plastics, both normal and fiber-reinforced, have been compared to the currently used plastics in a small IT product. The plastics have been compared... (More)
We live in a world where products are consumed at an ever increasing rate, and where responsibility for the waste created is seldom taken. Plastics are in many ways wondrous materials, but they put a big strain on the environment, both in production and as waste. Alternatives to the conventional, virgin fossil-based plastics have been available and emerging for some time now, for example seen in the recycling of PET bottles. The industry has been hesitant to implement them in engineering applications though, fearing they might not be up to standard. In this project, biobased and recycled plastics, both normal and fiber-reinforced, have been compared to the currently used plastics in a small IT product. The plastics have been compared through mechanical compression tests and standardized impact tests, thermal aging and exposure to detrimental environments. The study was also complemented with a comparative Life-cycle assessment considering both energy consumption and carbon footprint. The result has been that the recycled plastics not only out-performed the biobased and conventional plastics in the tests, but also had the lowest environmental impact of the three categories. The biobased plastic performed worse than the other in the tests, but was still above the normal requirements for what was acceptable in the products, and a close second in environmental impact. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Vi lever i en värld där produkter konsumeras i en allt snabbare takt och där det sällan tas ansvar för det skapade avfallet. Plast är på många sätt ett otroligt material men det sätter en stor belastning på miljön både genom produktion och som avfall. Alternativ till konventionell, helt fossilbaserad plast har funnits och utvecklats under en tid nu, till exempel genom återvinning av PET-flaskor. Industrin har dock varit tveksam till att implementera dem i tekniska applikationer och uttryckt misstro till deras prestanda. I detta projekt har biobaserad och återvunnen plast, både normal och fiberförstärkt, jämförts med de plasterna som i nuläget används i en mindre IT-produkt. Plasterna har jämförts genom mekaniska kompressionstester och... (More)
Vi lever i en värld där produkter konsumeras i en allt snabbare takt och där det sällan tas ansvar för det skapade avfallet. Plast är på många sätt ett otroligt material men det sätter en stor belastning på miljön både genom produktion och som avfall. Alternativ till konventionell, helt fossilbaserad plast har funnits och utvecklats under en tid nu, till exempel genom återvinning av PET-flaskor. Industrin har dock varit tveksam till att implementera dem i tekniska applikationer och uttryckt misstro till deras prestanda. I detta projekt har biobaserad och återvunnen plast, både normal och fiberförstärkt, jämförts med de plasterna som i nuläget används i en mindre IT-produkt. Plasterna har jämförts genom mekaniska kompressionstester och standardiserade slagprover, värmeåldring och genom exponering för andra skadliga miljöer. Studien kompletterades också med en jämförande livscykelanalys som tar både energiförbrukning och koldioxidavtryck i beaktande. Resultatet har visat att återvunnen plast inte bara överträffade den biobaserade och konventionella plasten i testerna utan också hade den lägsta miljöpåverkan av de tre plastkategorierna. Den biobaserade plasten presterade sämre än de andra i testerna, men presterade fortfarande inom kraven som ställs på produkten och höll en stark andraplats inom låg miljöpåverkan. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Axelsson, Hanna LU and Rudervall, Joaquin LU
supervisor
organization
course
KASM15 20211
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
sustainability, polymers, LCA, mechanical properties, testing, biobased, plastic, recycled, polymer technology
language
English
id
9055830
date added to LUP
2021-06-28 11:48:57
date last changed
2021-06-28 11:48:57
@misc{9055830,
  abstract     = {{We live in a world where products are consumed at an ever increasing rate, and where responsibility for the waste created is seldom taken. Plastics are in many ways wondrous materials, but they put a big strain on the environment, both in production and as waste. Alternatives to the conventional, virgin fossil-based plastics have been available and emerging for some time now, for example seen in the recycling of PET bottles. The industry has been hesitant to implement them in engineering applications though, fearing they might not be up to standard. In this project, biobased and recycled plastics, both normal and fiber-reinforced, have been compared to the currently used plastics in a small IT product. The plastics have been compared through mechanical compression tests and standardized impact tests, thermal aging and exposure to detrimental environments. The study was also complemented with a comparative Life-cycle assessment considering both energy consumption and carbon footprint. The result has been that the recycled plastics not only out-performed the biobased and conventional plastics in the tests, but also had the lowest environmental impact of the three categories. The biobased plastic performed worse than the other in the tests, but was still above the normal requirements for what was acceptable in the products, and a close second in environmental impact.}},
  author       = {{Axelsson, Hanna and Rudervall, Joaquin}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Evaluation of alternative, sustainable polymer materials in regard to mechanical properties and sustainability}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}