As part of the Interreg France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen Elast2Sustain project, the ITheMM laboratory at URCA is primarily working on the mechanical recycling of TPEs, as well as on the valorization of recycled materials through additive manufacturing. The objectives are multiple: to determine the impact of recycling cycles on the properties of different TPE families, to study the effect of incorporating recycled TPEs into polyolefin matrices, and to assess the printability of TPEs (before and after recycling). Our partner Centexbel focuses on the extrusion of polyolefin/TPE blends, while our partner Certech investigates the feasibility of pyrolysis of our recyclized products.
Initial results on material properties show little change after a first recycling cycle, although this depends on the TPE family. TPUs appear to be slightly more sensitive than others. The polyolefin blends are currently under characterization, and successful 3D printing has already been achieved with certain grades (TPU and TPS).
In the next phase of the project, a scale-up will be considered (from 1 kg to 50 kg), and functional parts will be printed to demonstrate the potential applications of recycled TPEs.
♻️ Towards sustainable and high-quality TPE applications!
