Ruturaj Sankpal

Bio: Ruturaj Sankpal is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Izod impact strength test & Ultimate tensile strength. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 2 citations.

Upscale recycling of nonwoven polypropylene waste using a novel blending method

Abstract: Waste management of the nonwoven polypropylene (PP) fabric has become an emerging issue due to its increased usage. This study presents the upscale recycling of PP nonwoven fabric scrap generated during medical-grade disposable gown manufacturing. To prepare PP and carbon black (CB) nanocomposite, a two-step novel melt blending process is used. A maximum density of 937 kg/m(3), shore D hardness of 74.45, and highest improvement in UV degradation resistance with a carbonyl index of 0.40 is recorded at 2 wt% of the CB while melt flow index is the lowest at 0.5 wt% of the CB. The results of this study revealed the peak melting point (161.81 degrees C), thermal degradation temperature (421 degrees C), highest flexural strength (49.16 MPa), and Izod impact strength (6.76 kJ/m(2)) are at 0.50 wt% of CB loading. A morphological study indicated that the highest agglomeration of CB particles was found at 2 wt% CB. The results showed that the optimum value of CB in PP nanocomposite is 0.5 wt%, at which the majority of the properties are maximized. This research might pave the way for the recycling of nonwoven PP waste fabric and provide an alternative to the exciting virgin raw materials.

Feasibility of Valorization of Post-Consumer Recycled Flexible Polypropylene by Adding Fumed Nanosilica for Its Potential Use in Food Packaging toward Sustainability

Abstract: The food industry has a current challenge of increasing the recycling of post-consumer plastics to reduce plastic waste towards a circular economy, especially flexible polypropylene, which is highly demanded in food packaging. However, recycling post-consumer plastics is limited because service life and reprocessing degrade their physical-mechanical properties and modify the migration of components from the recycled material to the food. This research evaluated the feasibility of valorization of post-consumer recycled flexible polypropylene (PCPP) by incorporating fumed nanosilica (NS). For this purpose, the effect of concentration and type (hydrophilic and hydrophobic) of NS on the morphological, mechanical, sealing, barrier and overall migration properties of PCPP films was studied. Incorporating NS improved Young’s modulus and, more significantly, tensile strength at 0.5 wt% and 1 wt%, where a better particle dispersion was confirmed by EDS-SEM, but it diminished elongation at breakage of the films. Interestingly, NS tended to increase the seal strength of PCPP nanocomposite films more significantly at higher NS content, showing a seal failure of the adhesive peel type which is preferred for flexible packaging. NS at 1 wt% did not affect the water vapor and oxygen permeabilities of the films. Overall migration of PCPP and nanocomposites exceeded the limit value of 10 mg dm−2 allowed by European legislation at the studied concentrations of 1% and 4 wt%. Nonetheless, NS reduced the overall migration of PCPP from 17.3 to 15 mg dm−2 in all nanocomposites. In conclusion, PCPP with 1 wt% of hydrophobic NS presented an improved overall performance of the studied packaging properties.

Crystallization, rheological behavior and mechanical properties of carbon nanotube/metallocene polypropylene composites

Abstract: In this paper, metallocene polypropylene (mPP) composites filled with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared using twin-screw extruder. The crystallization behavior, mechanical properties and rheological behavior were characterized by a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), universal material testing machine and rotational rheometer. The results of DSC indicated that the effect of CNTs on heterogeneous nucleation of mPP was very obvious and the crystallizability of the resin matrix was improved after adding CNTs, especially the initial crystallization temperature (T 0), crystallization temperature (T c) increased by 9.63 °C and 8.28 °C when the CNTs content was 1.25 wt%. The yield stress and elastic modulus increased to 33.98 MPa and 1605.6 MPa as the CNTs concentration increased to 1.0 wt% in contrast to that of the neat mPP. The results of SEM images showed that the better dispersion and adhesion of CNTs into polymer matrix. The results of rotational rheometer proved that interactions increased between CNTs and mPP as the content of CNTs increasing.