Properties of waste‐poly(ethylene terephthalate)/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene blends compatibilized with maleated acrylonitrile butadiene styrene

Waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (W‐PET)/acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene (ABS) blends were prepared with a variety of compositions at several rotor speeds in an internal mixer, replacing ABS with different maleated ABS (ABS‐ g ‐MA) samples in compatibilized blends. A Box–Behnken model for three variables, with three levels, was chosen for the experimental design. ABS‐ g ‐MA‐based samples exhibited finer particles with a more uniform particle size distribution than ABS‐based ones, as a consequence of the compatibilizing process. Rheological results implied a greater elastic nature for compatibilized blends which increased in the presence of more ABS content; the same trend was observed for complex viscosity. With increasing ABS‐ g ‐MA or MA concentration, more shear thinning behavior was observed similar to that of ABS; whereas the uncompatibilized blends showed Newtonian behavior like that of W‐PET. The observed shifting in T gW‐PET and T gABS obtained from dynamic mechanical thermal analysis confirmed the good compatibility in W‐PET/ABS‐ g ‐MA blends in contrast with that in ordinary W‐PET/ABS blends. The mechanical properties were measured and modeled versus the various factors considered in a response surface methodology. The experimental data found a good fit with the obtained equation models. The mechanical properties of the compatibilized blends showed a large positive deviation from the mixing rule, while the uncompatibilized samples had lower properties, even compared to those predicted by the mixing rule. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 2010.