Upcycling Secondary Cellulosic Fibres and Post-Industrial Recycled Polypropylene from Household Appliance Manufacturing into Circular Composites with Enhanced Dimensional Stability
- 1Department of Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering, Higher Polytechnic School of Linares, University of Jaén, Campus Científico-Tecnológico de Linares, 23700 Linares, Jaén, Spain
- 2Slovenian Tool and Die Development Centre (TECOS), Kidričeva Cesta 25, SI-3000 Celje, Slovenia
- 3Gorenje Gospodinjski Aparati, Partizanska Cesta 12, SI-3320 Velenje, Slovenia
Abstract
This study addresses the development, thermal characterisation, and dimensional stability of circular composites based on a post-industrial recycled polypropylene (rPP) matrix from household appliances. The matrix was reinforced with natural (B600 and BC300) and recycled (SIS250, PWC500, and ZZC500) cellulosic fibres at 10%, 20%, and 30% dosages, using 3% MAPP as a compatibilizer. Processing was conducted via twin-screw extrusion and injection moulding. Systematic evaluations (TGA-DTG, DSC, and DIL) showed a minor reduction (2.6–5.1%) in thermal degradation onset, maintaining a safe processing window. Cellulosic fibres generally promoted matrix crystallization through heterogeneous nucleation, increasing matrix crystallinity up to 39.3% in composite B600-30 compared to 20.4% for the reference rPP matrix. Furthermore, the reinforcements acted as dimensional stabilizers, reducing the linear thermal expansion coefficient (α40−120) by up to 28.9% (ZZC500-30) while increasing thermal conductivity by up to 32.7% (B600 series). This approach demonstrates a viable upcycling strategy, yielding high-secondary-content circular composites by combining post-industrial recycled polypropylene matrices with reinforcements (virgin wood cellulose benchmarks (B600 and BC300), pre-consumer recycled cellulose (PWC500), post-consumer recycled cellulose (ZZC500), and recycled technical sisal (SIS250), complemented by 3 wt.% commercial MAPP compatibilizer.
Related
- Temporally Validated and Laboratory-Reconciled Soft Sensing of Xylene-Soluble Fraction in Industrial Polypropylene Manufacturing
- Contamination tolerant poly(ethylene terephthalate) composites from recycled feedstocks and cellulosic waste
- Increasing the Impact Strength of Grass Fiber Polypropylene Composites with Virgin and Recycled Polypropylene
- Flow-Induced Structuring of Polypropylene-Based Composites for Improved Mechanical and Thermal Performance
- The Response of Flame-Retardant Polypropylene Composites After Long-Term Exposure to Corrosive Media
BibTeX
@article{martinezgarcia2026upcycling,
title = {{Upcycling Secondary Cellulosic Fibres and Post-Industrial Recycled Polypropylene from Household Appliance Manufacturing into Circular Composites with Enhanced Dimensional Stability}},
author = {Carmen Martínez-García and Vesna Žepič Bogataj and Ana B. López and Simon Kotnik and Francisco J. Iglesias-Godino and Manuel Valverde-Ibáñez and María Teresa Cotes-Palomino},
journal = {Polymers},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/polym18212659},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2659},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Upcycling Secondary Cellulosic Fibres and Post-Industrial Recycled Polypropylene from Household Appliance Manufacturing into Circular Composites with Enhanced Dimensional Stability
AU - Carmen Martínez-García
AU - Vesna Žepič Bogataj
AU - Ana B. López
AU - Simon Kotnik
AU - Francisco J. Iglesias-Godino
AU - Manuel Valverde-Ibáñez
AU - María Teresa Cotes-Palomino
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Polymers
DO - 10.3390/polym18212659
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2659
AB - This study addresses the development, thermal characterisation, and dimensional stability of circular composites based on a post-industrial recycled polypropylene (rPP) matrix from household appliances. The matrix was reinforced with natural (B600 and BC300) and recycled (SIS250, PWC500, and ZZC500) cellulosic fibres at 10%, 20%, and 30% dosages, using 3% MAPP as a compatibilizer. Processing was conducted via twin-screw extrusion and injection moulding. Systematic evaluations (TGA-DTG, DSC, and DIL) showed a minor reduction (2.6–5.1%) in thermal degradation onset, maintaining a safe processing window. Cellulosic fibres generally promoted matrix crystallization through heterogeneous nucleation, increasing matrix crystallinity up to 39.3% in composite B600-30 compared to 20.4% for the reference rPP matrix. Furthermore, the reinforcements acted as dimensional stabilizers, reducing the linear thermal expansion coefficient (α40−120) by up to 28.9% (ZZC500-30) while increasing thermal conductivity by up to 32.7% (B600 series). This approach demonstrates a viable upcycling strategy, yielding high-secondary-content circular composites by combining post-industrial recycled polypropylene matrices with reinforcements (virgin wood cellulose benchmarks (B600 and BC300), pre-consumer recycled cellulose (PWC500), post-consumer recycled cellulose (ZZC500), and recycled technical sisal (SIS250), complemented by 3 wt.% commercial MAPP compatibilizer.
SN - 2073-4360
ER -