Development and Characterization of Thermoplastic Composites Based on Recycled HDPE from Railway Sleepers' Fastening Bushes and Scraped Fractions from Carbon Fiber Waste Upcycling.
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| Title: | Development and Characterization of Thermoplastic Composites Based on Recycled HDPE from Railway Sleepers' Fastening Bushes and Scraped Fractions from Carbon Fiber Waste Upcycling. |
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| Authors: | Petrucci, Roberto1 (AUTHOR) roberto.petrucci@unipg.it, Rallini, Marco1 (AUTHOR), Natali, Maurizio1 (AUTHOR), Torre, Luigi1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Polymers (20734360). Jun2026, Vol. 18 Issue 11, p1309. 38p. |
| Subjects: | High density polyethylene, Carbon fibers, Circular economy, Mechanical behavior of materials, Railroad ties, Electric conductivity, Thermoplastic composites, Plastic recycling |
| Abstract: | The railway sector is crucial for transportation, but infrastructure maintenance generates significant waste and requires large amounts of materials, increasing environmental impact. Circular economy integration mitigates this impact through material recovery. This study focused on the recycling of bushes embedded in railways sleepers, currently disposed of in landfills, obtaining high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The developed scalable process converted contaminated bushes into pellets, whose environmental sustainability was assessed through life cycle analysis. Challenges of the recycled material, such as high viscosity and heterogeneity, were partially addressed with a slipping agent and a compatibilizer, increasing the material melt index from 0.71 to 1.62 g/10 min. Carbon fiber waste addition improved thermal stability, mechanical stiffness, and electrical conductivity. Compatibilized blends offered the best balance of mechanical properties but lower electrical conductivity. The Young modulus was increased from 1.20 GPa for the neat matrix to 4.40 GPa for the system containing 30% carbon fibers in weight, with no significant decreases in the yield stress, while showing the lowest electrical conductivity. To reduce environmental impact and produce a tougher material without compromising conductivity, the compatibilizer was replaced with HDPE from PET bottle caps, resulting in comparable mechanical properties and higher electrical conductivity but reduced fiber/matrix interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Polymers (20734360) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 194587573 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Development and Characterization of Thermoplastic Composites Based on Recycled HDPE from Railway Sleepers' Fastening Bushes and Scraped Fractions from Carbon Fiber Waste Upcycling. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Petrucci%2C+Roberto%22">Petrucci, Roberto</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> roberto.petrucci@unipg.it</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rallini%2C+Marco%22">Rallini, Marco</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Natali%2C+Maurizio%22">Natali, Maurizio</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Torre%2C+Luigi%22">Torre, Luigi</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Polymers+%2820734360%29%22">Polymers (20734360)</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 18 Issue 11, p1309. 38p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22High+density+polyethylene%22">High density polyethylene</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Carbon+fibers%22">Carbon fibers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Circular+economy%22">Circular economy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mechanical+behavior+of+materials%22">Mechanical behavior of materials</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Railroad+ties%22">Railroad ties</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Electric+conductivity%22">Electric conductivity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Thermoplastic+composites%22">Thermoplastic composites</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Plastic+recycling%22">Plastic recycling</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The railway sector is crucial for transportation, but infrastructure maintenance generates significant waste and requires large amounts of materials, increasing environmental impact. Circular economy integration mitigates this impact through material recovery. This study focused on the recycling of bushes embedded in railways sleepers, currently disposed of in landfills, obtaining high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The developed scalable process converted contaminated bushes into pellets, whose environmental sustainability was assessed through life cycle analysis. Challenges of the recycled material, such as high viscosity and heterogeneity, were partially addressed with a slipping agent and a compatibilizer, increasing the material melt index from 0.71 to 1.62 g/10 min. Carbon fiber waste addition improved thermal stability, mechanical stiffness, and electrical conductivity. Compatibilized blends offered the best balance of mechanical properties but lower electrical conductivity. The Young modulus was increased from 1.20 GPa for the neat matrix to 4.40 GPa for the system containing 30% carbon fibers in weight, with no significant decreases in the yield stress, while showing the lowest electrical conductivity. To reduce environmental impact and produce a tougher material without compromising conductivity, the compatibilizer was replaced with HDPE from PET bottle caps, resulting in comparable mechanical properties and higher electrical conductivity but reduced fiber/matrix interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Polymers (20734360) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.3390/polym18111309 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 38 StartPage: 1309 Subjects: – SubjectFull: High density polyethylene Type: general – SubjectFull: Carbon fibers Type: general – SubjectFull: Circular economy Type: general – SubjectFull: Mechanical behavior of materials Type: general – SubjectFull: Railroad ties Type: general – SubjectFull: Electric conductivity Type: general – SubjectFull: Thermoplastic composites Type: general – SubjectFull: Plastic recycling Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Development and Characterization of Thermoplastic Composites Based on Recycled HDPE from Railway Sleepers' Fastening Bushes and Scraped Fractions from Carbon Fiber Waste Upcycling. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Petrucci, Roberto – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Rallini, Marco – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Natali, Maurizio – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Torre, Luigi IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 06 Text: Jun2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 20734360 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 18 – Type: issue Value: 11 Titles: – TitleFull: Polymers (20734360) Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
