GPEC 2004 Paper Abstract #6:

Title: Effects of Regrind/Reprocessed Materials on Thermoplastics

Author(s): Susan DeGrood, Visteon Corporation
For optimal use of raw materials and existing/future regulations on recycling, addition of reprocessed material in engineered thermoplastics is an on-going practice in the automotive
industry. This can take the form of regrind or treated scrap materials. Many considerations must
be made as to the handling, re-introduction into the process, and effects on the properties and
stabilization of the polymer, particularly in the case where subsequent heating or chemical
treatment of the polymer occurs. It is recommended that determination of optimal addition of
regrind be done as part of the development of the application and not introduced as an afterthought once production has begun and scrap materials appear. Considerations and guidelines
for use of reprocessed material are provided. Suggested testing and evaluation of materials are
outlined.
When additional reprocessing steps are added, such as repelletization or coating removal, the
condition and properties of the regrind must be carefully evaluated. The effects must be
thoroughly understood, identified and compensated for, if necessary. It may be possible to
correlate standard lab testing and long-term material performance to assess the reprocessing
effects in order to shorten test time. One potential short-term test method to evaluate stabilizers
is the Oxidative-Induction Time of Polyolefins by Differential Scanning per ASTM D3895.
Data from use of this method is reviewed and the pros and cons are discussed.

Effects Regrind/Reprocessing Materials on Thermoplastics

Susan DeGrood
Visteon Corporation
GPEC 2004

Abstract:
For optimal use of raw materials and existing/future regulations on recycling, addition of re-processed material in engineered
thermoplastics is an on-going practice in the automotive industry. This can take the form of regrind or treated scrap
materials. Many considerations must be made as to the handling, re-introduction into the process, and effects on the
properties and stabilization of the polymer, particularly in the case where subsequent heating or chemical treatment of the
polymer occurs. It is recommended that determination of optimal addition of regrind be done as part of the development of
the application and not introduced as an after-thought once production has begun and scrap materials appear. Considerations
and guidelines for use of reprocessed material are provided. Suggested testing and evaluation of materials are outlined.
When additional reprocessing steps are added, such as repelletization or coating removal, the condition and properties of the
regrind must be carefully evaluated. The effects must be thoroughly understood, identified and compensated for, if
necessary. It may be possible to correlate standard lab testing and long-term material performance to assess the reprocessing
effects in order to shorten test time. One potential short-term test method to evaluate stabilizers is the Oxidative-Induction
Time of Polyolefins by Differential Scanning per ASTM D3895. Data from use of this method is reviewed and the pros and
cons are discussed.
Introduction:
Currently, material suppliers recommend regrind usage of 20 to 25% for engineered thermoplastics as a general rule. Many
plastics parts manufacturers use this as a basis for determining the amount of regrind used in their process/parts. This is
applied with minimal testing or worse case, without any additional testing at all. Testing of parts is usually done on 100%
virgin material without any regrind since in most cases regrind material is not available or has not been made available.
Addition of regrind is typically an after-thought and added in only after a part has been in production for some time and scrap
starts to accumulate. Also, the percentage of scrap generated may also determine the level of regrind used.
In either event, if a good understanding of multiple regrinds and heat histories on engineered thermal plastics is not pursued,
then a number of issues can arise. It is important to collect the appropriate data and complete part testing when use of regrind
is applied.
One major issue that typically goes unheeded is the effect of reprocessing on additive packages and their ability to perform as
desired post reprocessing. This may be due to the nature of long term testing used to evaluate additive packages. It may be
possible to use Oxidative Induction Time testing per ASTM D 3895 for polyolefins to determine some level of performance
loss in additive packages.
-Discussion and Results:
Typically, material suppliers will recommend 20% to 25% regrind usage for most materials. This is the basis for determining
the amount of regrind used by many plastic part manufacturers. Amount of regrind can also be based on the amount of scrap
generated by the molding process(es). In some cases the customer may state regrind use requirements or industry standards
my impose limitations on regrind usage for particular applications. In any of these cases, the regrind amount may not be
optimized for the application and the effect on properties resulting from various levels of regrind addition not fully
understood.
Why is it necessary to obtain the optimal amount of regrind for an application? If too much regrind is used it can jeopardize
the performance of the molded part, especially for parts on design edge for material capability. Varying the amount of
regrinding during a process can also pose manufacturing issues if, for instance, wide variances in melt flow occur.
On the other hand, If a low level of regrind is used for conservatism, and an application can take higher regrind percentages,
the opportunity to maximize regrind usage is lost. Why would we want to consider regrinds in higher percentages? Now,
one would not expect a process to produce enough scrap to warrant 100% regrind use, but if an application can tolerate a
higher regrind percentage, it may be able to take regrind streams from other products with the same material. Also, if there is
a problem during the molding process and an unexpected amount of scrap is generated, knowing what your maximum
allowable regrind is may help to reduce the scrap pile more quickly or avoid sending it to landfill.
To determine the optimal amount of regrind for an application, some basic data must be gathered. This initial data should be
used to provide direction on the levels of regrind that will be tested in an application. By considering the effect of multiple
regrind re-processing and heat histories on a material, one can determine the levels of regrind that will be considered. The
following is a recommended regime of data (Table 1):
Obtain data to determine effect of multiple regrind cycles (5 7) on material properties. Example Table 1:

Property

th

Note: regrind minimally is 5 to 7

generation

th

100%
Virgin

75% virgin
25%
regrind

50% virgin
50%
regrind

25% virin
75%
regrind

100%
regrind

Tensile strength *
Impact strength (Izod or multi-axial)*
Elongation *
Melt Flow Rate*
*Note: test methods should be follow the ISO standards for these tests, however ASTM methods are also acceptable at this
stage.
Baseline levels of stabilizers & additives in the virgin material should be obtained. Re-test levels after multiple regrind
cycles (5-7) to see if additives and stabilizers have been depleted by multiple heat histories or cleaning/reprocessing methods.
Measure reduction in length of reinforcements for highly modified thermoplastics, where the physical properties are greatly
enhanced by the addition fillers (ie, glass fibers). Condensation polymers such as nylon, polyester and polycarbonate are
susceptible to degradation in the presence of moisture. Polymers with low initial molecular weights will be more subject to
degradation due to multiple heat histories: Example: PC avg. MW is 20,00-30,000 whereas PS or PMMA avg. MW is
100,000.Once direction for the levels of regrind in an application has been derived, then parts need to be manufactured and
performance tested. From this data the optimal amount of regrind should be determined for the application and properly
documented. Optimized regrind usage should be part of a regimented design process as a matter of course. For example in
the automotive industry, parts development testing and production validation must be done on parts with the maximum
allowable level of regrind as determined by this process.
One additional point: Material problems occur and it is hard to discern if regrind usage is related to root cause when its
application and usage are not thoroughly tested and understood. (It may be decided to abandon use of regrind until the
problem is solved, but once this happens, use of regrind may not be re-instated, resulting in loss of usage potential of material
and increased landfill if the material is not used in other applications or sold on the open market.)
If a thorough understanding of the effect of the addition of regrind, multiple heat histories, shear effects, etc., is not pursued
with highly engineered thermoplastics root cause definition of material related problems that may arise will be difficult to
identify.
Now that the proper level of regrind has been investigated, manufacturing considerations must be made as well.
A control plan for regrind reprocessing & re-introduction into the mold process must be established.
What size/shape are the regrind pieces? Depending on the molding equipment this may play a large factor. For example, the
length of the screw in an injection mold machine plays a role in determining if larger, non-homogenous regrind can be used.
If the screw length is long enough, then proper mixing and melting of the regrind can occur. On the other hand, short screw
length may not allow for adequate melting and incorporation of the regrind with respect to virgin homogenous pellets. The
same goes with respect to shot size as well. If there is a need re-extrude and re-pelletize the regrind, then an additional heat
history is added as well as transportation and processing costs.
If the virgin material dried it is imperative that there be steps to insure that the regrind is fed back into the feed stream before
the dryer and that the dryer has adequate capacity to handle the incoming virgin and regrind volumes.
Any level of regrind (correctly determined or not) must be added in at a constant rate. If the amount used is, say 20%, then
20% should be pre-blended with virgin material or metered in at a rate to yield a constant 20%. The 20% level should not be
achieved by a bulk addition of 100% regrind at some point in the manufacturing shift so that it balances out to 20% at the
end of the day!
Additives and stabilizers must be considered as well and it may not be apparent in the physical property testing used to
determine optimal regrind levels. Are they depleted in the reprocessing of the material be it heat or chemical reprocessing?
Typically, long-term tests are used to evaluate the effectiveness of stabilizer packages. As this may not be practical or cost
effective to do on a regular basis, short-term tests such as Oxidative Induction Time (OIT) may be used

Method
Oxidative Induction Time (OIT) can be determined for olefinic materials using ASTM D3895. OIT uses Differential
Scanning Calorimetry to obtain a materials relative level of resistance to oxidative decomposition This is obtained by
measuring the time it takes the material to display exothermic oxidation while in an oxygen atmosphere. This is done at a
specified temperature, which for olefins is 200C. Figure 1* illustrates the derivation of the OIT from the DSC data.

Evaluation of OIT from Recorded-Time-Based Thermal Curve

Figure 1is taken from ASTM D3895, 1998, 1-6

The effects of a paint removal system (chemical reprocessing) on the additive packages in a thermoplastic olefin (TPO) was
evaluated using OIT. It should be noted that OIT is a relative, qualitative measurement, not a quantitative one. Data gathered
in this study provided trends and effects. Also, the ASTM D3895 is written for olefinic type materials exclusively. Note also
that OIT looks at the type of additives that have to do with heat stabilization. UV stabilizers must be evaluated using another
method such as phosphate/phosphite testing. Data from one formulation of TPO is presented. Only the paint removal
process was varied.

Data
First, baseline OIT values were determined for the 100% virgin material (unpainted) which under went several generations of
molding to assess the effect of multiple heat histories on the TPO materials heat stabilizer package. This would help to
separate the effects of heat history and the paint removal process. Figure 2 shows the OIT data from several regrind
generations of the 100% virgin unpainted material.

Figure 2: Multiple Generation OIT values for unpainted TPO

Multiple Regrind OIT values

60.00

Virgin

1st gen.
Regrind
2nd gen.
Regrind

OIT (min)

55.00

3rd gen.
Regrind

50.00

45.00

Regrind Passes

As the data shows, multiple regrind generations have relatively small effect on OIT values. 100% virgin materials OIT
value was 54 minutes and at the 3 generation only fell to 52 minutes.
Figure 3 shows the OIT values for various paint stripping processes.

Figure 3 OIT values for painted TPO with various paint stripping processes

Paint Strip Process on TPO vs. OIT Data

50
100% Virgin

45
40

OIT (min)

35
30
25
Process 5

20
Process 2

15
10

Process 1

Process 3

Process 4

5
0

Sample Type

Process
80/20
6 Virgin/Process 6

Figure 3 data shows that the OIT values fell dramatically with the various paint stripping processing indicating a definite
depletion of the stabilizer package depending on the paint stripping process used.

Conclusions:
Use of regrind in thermoplastic parts must be carefully considered both from an application specific point of view and
manufacturing point of view. Optimal use of regrind must be determined early in the design process and must be based on
sound data and component testing. Process parameters and procedures also play a key role in the successful use of
thermoplastic regrind.
Oxidative Induction Time (OIT) testing can be used to find qualitative trends and effects of reprocessing, both thermal and
chemical, on stabilizing additives in olefinic thermoplastics. It may be possible to determine quantitative data if OIT is
combined with long-term test results (heat aging tests for example) and other analytical data such as infrared (IR)
spectroscopy to look for carbonyl formation as a indicator of oxidation.

Acknowledgements:

Dottie Britz Visteon

Ewa Lebert Visteon
Rose Ryntz Visteon
ACI
Basell
Exxon
Dupont