Can PE-X materials be recycled?
There is a preconception that PE-X cannot be recycled. Clean thermoplastics materials can be chopped or ground and re-pelletised for reprocessing into products by extrusion or moulding. However PE-X acts more like a thermoset with no distinct melting point. The Association has conducted a survey and identified the following alternative possibilities:- • Mechanical recovery • Grinding of PE-X to a fine powder enables the product to be used as a filler in other plastics or in other compositions. These powders have been in hand cleaner formulations also. • Other techniques using high shear compounding techniques to break down the cross-linked network have also been patented by Alcatel. • Chemical recovery • The chemical Si-O-Si bond in silane crosslinked polyethylene can be broken under conditions of temperature and pressure using super critical alcohols as described in Japanese Hitachi patents. • This concept has been further developed by Hitachi using compounding techniques. • The comme
