synergistic effects of metal stearate, calcium carbonate, and recycled polyethylene on thermo-mechanical behavior of polyvinylchloride

Thermo-mechanical recycling process is the cheapest way to recover plastic waste such as ldpe with low ecological impact. thus, the goal of this work is to obtain high-performance microcomposites from polyvinyl chloride (pvc), recycled low-density polyethylene (r-ldpe), calcium carbonate (caco3), and calcium/zinc stearate (cast2/znst2). the effect of the two ratios of thermal stabilizers with different concentrations on the mechanical properties and thermal stability of pvc and pvc/r-ldpe (1:1) blend was studied. the samples were characterized using infrared spectroscopy (ftir), mechanical tests, thermal analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (sem). the addition of 5 phr of cast2:znst2 (9:1) to pvc (mc4) resulted in optimal tensile strength and elongationat- break values. in addition, mc4 showed high thermal stability. moreover, the incorporation of r-ldpe into pvc made the pvc matrix stronger and more stable than pure pvc, which yields high mechanical and thermal performances. furthermore, an outstanding synergistic effect is obtained when a heat stabilizer rich in calcium is combined with caco3 and r-ldpe. this pvc/r-ldpe blend as a composite can be used in several industrial fields.