A new recycling strategy for airbag waste
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Sinja Pagel
und
Christian Bonten
Abstract
Multi-layer materials are often used in technical parts to achieve certain properties of products and thus adapt their property profile to the respective application. However, a major challenge of plastics recycling is the separation of the various polymer components. One example for this are airbags. Airbags consist primarily of polyamide 6.6 (PA66) fibers and an additional silicone coating. During recycling, the silicone layer cannot be mechanically separated from the synthetic fiber. Therefore, the silicone particles remain in the recyclate with a poor bonding to the PA66 matrix. In turn, this can lead to poor mechanical properties of the recycled material and early material failure due to interface detachment. In this work, a new recycling strategy for the functional integration of silicone particles is demonstrated using the example of airbag waste. A reactive compounding of the waste with special coupling agents in a twin-screw extruder was conducted to achieve adhesion or coupling between the silicone particles and the PA66 matrix. Rheological tests confirmed the formation of physical or chemical bonds by adding the coupling agent, respectively. Nano-IR-AFM analyses demonstrated the improved integration of the silicone particles into the PA66 and the reduction of cavities in the compound. Mechanical characterization showed the increase in notched impact strength and elongation at break by almost double, which means that a higher plastic deformation is possible. These results show that coupling of the silicone particles to the PA66 matrix can be achieved by the use of coupling agents. The silicone particles no longer act merely as a filler, but as a functional additive or an impact modifier.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their gratitude for the funding. Further thanks go to our project partner almaak international GmbH (Krefeld/Germany) for the successful cooperation.
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Research ethics: Not applicable.
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Informed consent: Not applicable.
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Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: The authors created the article themselves, without the use of Large Language Models (LLM), such as ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning Tools (MLT).
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Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.
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Research funding: The research project “Entwicklung eines stofflichen Upcyclingverfahrens für silikonhaltige Fasermaterialien” was funded within the ZIM program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag (AiF ZIM Project No. KK5015706KO0).
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Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.
References
Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of life vehicles. (2000). European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, Bruessel, Belgium, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:02000L0053-20180704 (Accessed 20 November 2024).Suche in Google Scholar
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© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- PPS2024 Ferrol: advances and perspectives in polymer processing
- Research Articles
- Applying network theory to the modeling of multilayer flows in slot dies: a use case for symbolic regression-based co-extrusion prediction models
- Multiscale polyethylene fiber – bacterial nanocellulose composites through combined laser fusion and bacterial in situ synthesis
- Novel approach to produce reinforced plastic weld seams using an additive friction stir welding process
- Local thermal activation for a combined thermoforming and 3D-printing process
- A new recycling strategy for airbag waste
- Highly electro-conductive PEDOT based thermoplastic composites: effect of filler form factor on electrical percolation threshold
- Cavity balance improvement for injection molded parts via automated flow leader generation
- Application of artificial intelligence techniques to select the objectives in the multi-objective optimization of injection molding
- Modeling melt conveying and power consumption of conveying elements in co-rotating twin-screw extruders
