MICROPELLETIZATION OF HDPE TO MANUFACTURE POROUS FILMS AND PLASTIC PARTS

Abstract

The main objective of this work was to study the influence of porosity in the thermal conductivity of sintered parts from micropellets of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). Micropellets were produced using the technique described  in  US  Patent  20130234357.  An  experimental  setup  was  performed  to  create  sintered  parts  from micropellets changing parameters such as temperature, time and particle size,  in order to change the  porosity. The  thermal  diffusivity  and  conductivity  of  the  sintered  parts  was  measured  by  flash  technique.  The micropellets had a particle size between 250 and >500 µm permiting recorded parts with a porosity between 5- 45%,  with  a  closed  morphology  and  pore  size  called  macropore.  The  increased  porosity  decreased  thermal conductivity. The HDPE micropellets allow to create porous parts; however, at present they cannot be used in applications filtering or thermal insulation.