Recycling of engineered thermoplastics resins in business machine applications through repelletizing process

This paper examines the closed loop recycling of two of the most commonly used thermoplastics for enclosures: structural foam high impact polystyrene and polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. In particular, the paper evaluates two methods used to prepare the recycled resins. First, the used parts are reground and then molded into new parts. Secondly, the reground resin is melt extruded and repelletized to obtain uniformly granulated resins and then used to mold the same parts. The physico-mechanical properties of the reground and repelletized recycled resins are measured, analyzed and discussed. Also, the properties of the parts, molded from both 100% recycled resins, are evaluated for flammability, mold stress relief and impact. In addition, the enclosures molded from both streams of recycled resins are painted and evaluated for aesthetic appearance.