This study covers the recycling of waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) bottles through melt blending with low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP). In general, polymer blends are known to be immiscible and incompatible with poor mechanical properties. This problem is due to the low intermolecular forces between the components of the immiscible blends. In order to enhance the interaction and compatibility between these matrices, some reactive or non-reactive copolymers were used. In this work / PET was treated with silane coupling agent (SCA) (low molecular weight reactive additive) for compatilization of LDPE-PP-PET blends. LDPE-PP-PET blends were prepared in different compositions (by weight) with and without silane coupling agent at high temperatures by a single screw extrusion and injection molding. Mechanical properties of treated and non-treated blends were studied in terms of tensile strength, strain at break and impact strength. Melt flow properties of blends were investigated by melt flow index. The impact fractured surfaces and thermal behaviour of the blends were examined with Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC), respectively. Through out the studies, good adhesion between PET and LDPE-PP matrix was successfully achieved by the surface treatment of PET particles. The adhesion was also observed in SEM studies. Also the variation in mechanical properties was found to be highly dependent on the number of extrusion.

The recycling industry which is efficiently functioning now has technical expertise, contented consumers, and resource availability and capital contributors. The potential inflow of new material into this existing system should be able to fulfill all the needs of the stakeholders involved in it. With most of the polymer wastes received from the polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), they are available in abundant crossing the threshold quantity (Cornell, 2007) needed for the recycling process to be carried for every single polymer starting from the individual source separation till the granulation of pellets with active investment for the potential expectancy of returns in the recycling market targeting suitable consumers. Unlike other polymers like polyvinyl chloride and polypropylene (PP), biopolymers fail to fulfill the necessary criteria of being in threshold quantity to carry out the recycling process. With the very small inflow of biopolymers in the recycling industry, standalone recycling units for the same is not highly performed and appreciated. In addition to this, there are possible means and ways of the biopolymers getting infused into the conventional petrochemical polymers either through the mis-throws in manual sorting or in automated sorting. Though the studies so far don't have any substantial threatening effect over the biopolymer infusion, still it has its adversity affecting the industry by other means. The volumes of biopolymers are presently small and contamination of biopolymer in the plastic waste stream is presently not a problem. However, with increasing volumes of biopolymers, this can be a problem. Contamination could then be a future problem. This study investigates that problem and checks the truth to the claims of biopolymer infusion in the conventional post-consumer recycling systems affecting the quality of the recyclates. In order to investigate this, a biodegradable biopolymer (TPS & PHA) will be mixed into a conventional polymer (PE, PP, PET) at various percentages. The mechanical and thermal properties are then measured as a function of the percentage biopolymer. In a second part of the project, the blend of conventional plastics and bioplastic is conditioned in humidity in order to simulate what will happen to a conventional polymer that has been contaminated with a biopolymer in a humid climate.

A reciclagem é uma alternativa para o emprego dos resíduos plásticos; diminuindo custos e preservando recursos naturais não renováveis. O setor da construção civil tem absorvido parte destes rejeitos, tornando-os subprodutos importantes, os quais podem ter desempenho tão satisfatório quanto os produtos já existentes, além de ecologicamente corretos. Esse trabalho aponta uma nova utilização destes resíduos, propondo a substituição parcial da areia natural por PET e PP (ambos pós-consumo) na forma de flocos em diversas formulações, objetivando a produção de concreto estrutural com agregados leves para a aplicação na construção civil. A pesquisa foi dividida em duas etapas: na primeira foi avaliado o teor adequado (em volume) em diferentes tempos de cura para cada polímero de maneira a garantir um bom desempenho mecânico em termos de resistência à compressão. Nesta etapa, o teor analisado que garantiu o melhor resultado foi o de10% tanto para o PET como para o PP. Na segunda etapa este teor foi utilizado para verificar a influência da adição destes resíduos no desempenho mecânico e na durabilidade do concreto para 28 e 90 dias de cura. Foram realizados ensaios de caracterização mecânica, física, química, térmica e morfológica das amostras com e sem adição dos flocos poliméricos. Os resultados da primeira etapa da pesquisa mostraram que o teor máximo com melhor desempenho mecânico foi de 10% v/v. Na segunda etapa, houve um pequeno decréscimo na resistência à compressão axial nas amostras com polímeros quando comparada à referência. Amostras com flocos de PET obtiveram menor teor de vazios e, portanto, menor absorção de água quando comparadas às amostras com PP, indicando uma possível melhor interação do PET com a matriz cimentícia. Para as amostras com PP, houve um maior teor de vazios e maior absorção de água quando comparados às amostras referência e com adição de PET. Entretanto, o PP agiu como excelente barreira à penetração dos íons cloretos, reduzindo a porcentagem de carga passante em comparação ao concreto com PET e referência, o que pode ser considerado como um resultado promissor ao se considerar seu uso (PP) como possível substituto da areia. / Recycling is an alternative to the use of plastic residues, thus contributing to the reduction of costs and preserving non-renewable natural resources. The construction sector has absorbed part of these residues, by transforming them into important by-products, which can have similar performance as the existing products and can also be considered as an environmentally friendly product. This study focus on the use to these residues to partially replace natural sand by PET and PP (both post-consumer) flakes in different contents (by volume), aiming to produce structural concrete with lightweight aggregate for civil construction use. The study was divided into two stages: in the first stage the ideal polymer content was evaluated at different curing ages in terms of compressive strength. In this this stage, the ideal polymer content that provided the best result was 10% for both PET and PP. In the second stage, this ideal polymer content was used to verify the influence of the use of these residues on the mechanical performance and durability of concrete for 28 and 90 days of curing. Mechanical characterization tests were performed, followed by physical, chemical, thermal and morphological characterization of specimens with and without the addition of polymer flakes. In the first stage of the research, it was observed a reduction in the compressive strength as the polymer content increases, except for the 10% content, which did not show major differences compared to the reference mix. In the second stage, it was observed a small decrease in the mechanical behaviour for the samples with polymer addition compared to the reference mix. In terms of durability, the specimens with PET addition presented lower void content and lower water absorption when compared to PP, which may indicate an improved interaction of PET flakes to the cementitious matrix. The specimens with PP presented higher void content and water absorption when compared to PET and reference mixes. However, the addition of PP seems to have acted as a barrier to the penetration of chloride ions, reducing the percentage of passing load compared to PET and reference mixes, which leads to the fact that this polymer (PP) may be a good option as sand replacement in structural concrete.

The recycling industry which is efficiently functioning now has technical expertise, contented consumers, and resource availability and capital contributors. The potential inflow of new material into this existing system should be able to fulfill all the needs of the stakeholders involved in it. With most of the polymer wastes received from the polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), they are available in abundant crossing the threshold quantity (Cornell, 2007) needed for the recycling process to be carried for every single polymer starting from the individual source separation till the granulation of pellets with active investment for the potential expectancy of returns in the recycling market targeting suitable consumers. Unlike other polymers like polyvinyl chloride and polypropylene (PP), biopolymers fail to fulfill the necessary criteria of being in threshold quantity to carry out the recycling process. With the very small inflow of biopolymers in the recycling industry, standalone recycling units for the same is not highly performed and appreciated. In addition to this, there are possible means and ways of the biopolymers getting infused into the conventional petrochemical polymers either through the mis-throws in manual sorting or in automated sorting. Though the studies so far don't have any substantial threatening effect over the biopolymer infusion, still it has its adversity affecting the industry by other means. The volumes of biopolymers are presently small and contamination of biopolymer in the plastic waste stream is presently not a problem. However, with increasing volumes of biopolymers, this can be a problem. Contamination could then be a future problem. This study investigates that problem and checks the truth to the claims of biopolymer infusion in the conventional post-consumer recycling systems affecting the quality of the recyclates. In order to investigate this, a biodegradable biopolymer (TPS & PHA) will be mixed into a conventional polymer (PE, PP, PET) at various percentages. The mechanical and thermal properties are then measured as a function of the percentage biopolymer. In a second part of the project, the blend of conventional plastics and bioplastic is conditioned in humidity in order to simulate what will happen to a conventional polymer that has been contaminated with a biopolymer in a humid climate.

A reciclagem é uma alternativa para o emprego dos resíduos plásticos; diminuindo custos e preservando recursos naturais não renováveis. O setor da construção civil tem absorvido parte destes rejeitos, tornando-os subprodutos importantes, os quais podem ter desempenho tão satisfatório quanto os produtos já existentes, além de ecologicamente corretos. Esse trabalho aponta uma nova utilização destes resíduos, propondo a substituição parcial da areia natural por PET e PP (ambos pós-consumo) na forma de flocos em diversas formulações, objetivando a produção de concreto estrutural com agregados leves para a aplicação na construção civil. A pesquisa foi dividida em duas etapas: na primeira foi avaliado o teor adequado (em volume) em diferentes tempos de cura para cada polímero de maneira a garantir um bom desempenho mecânico em termos de resistência à compressão. Nesta etapa, o teor analisado que garantiu o melhor resultado foi o de10% tanto para o PET como para o PP. Na segunda etapa este teor foi utilizado para verificar a influência da adição destes resíduos no desempenho mecânico e na durabilidade do concreto para 28 e 90 dias de cura. Foram realizados ensaios de caracterização mecânica, física, química, térmica e morfológica das amostras com e sem adição dos flocos poliméricos. Os resultados da primeira etapa da pesquisa mostraram que o teor máximo com melhor desempenho mecânico foi de 10% v/v. Na segunda etapa, houve um pequeno decréscimo na resistência à compressão axial nas amostras com polímeros quando comparada à referência. Amostras com flocos de PET obtiveram menor teor de vazios e, portanto, menor absorção de água quando comparadas às amostras com PP, indicando uma possível melhor interação do PET com a matriz cimentícia. Para as amostras com PP, houve um maior teor de vazios e maior absorção de água quando comparados às amostras referência e com adição de PET. Entretanto, o PP agiu como excelente barreira à penetração dos íons cloretos, reduzindo a porcentagem de carga passante em comparação ao concreto com PET e referência, o que pode ser considerado como um resultado promissor ao se considerar seu uso (PP) como possível substituto da areia. / Recycling is an alternative to the use of plastic residues, thus contributing to the reduction of costs and preserving non-renewable natural resources. The construction sector has absorbed part of these residues, by transforming them into important by-products, which can have similar performance as the existing products and can also be considered as an environmentally friendly product. This study focus on the use to these residues to partially replace natural sand by PET and PP (both post-consumer) flakes in different contents (by volume), aiming to produce structural concrete with lightweight aggregate for civil construction use. The study was divided into two stages: in the first stage the ideal polymer content was evaluated at different curing ages in terms of compressive strength. In this this stage, the ideal polymer content that provided the best result was 10% for both PET and PP. In the second stage, this ideal polymer content was used to verify the influence of the use of these residues on the mechanical performance and durability of concrete for 28 and 90 days of curing. Mechanical characterization tests were performed, followed by physical, chemical, thermal and morphological characterization of specimens with and without the addition of polymer flakes. In the first stage of the research, it was observed a reduction in the compressive strength as the polymer content increases, except for the 10% content, which did not show major differences compared to the reference mix. In the second stage, it was observed a small decrease in the mechanical behaviour for the samples with polymer addition compared to the reference mix. In terms of durability, the specimens with PET addition presented lower void content and lower water absorption when compared to PP, which may indicate an improved interaction of PET flakes to the cementitious matrix. The specimens with PP presented higher void content and water absorption when compared to PET and reference mixes. However, the addition of PP seems to have acted as a barrier to the penetration of chloride ions, reducing the percentage of passing load compared to PET and reference mixes, which leads to the fact that this polymer (PP) may be a good option as sand replacement in structural concrete.

A reciclagem é uma alternativa para o emprego dos resíduos plásticos; diminuindo custos e preservando recursos naturais não renováveis. O setor da construção civil tem absorvido parte destes rejeitos, tornando-os subprodutos importantes, os quais podem ter desempenho tão satisfatório quanto os produtos já existentes, além de ecologicamente corretos. Esse trabalho aponta uma nova utilização destes resíduos, propondo a substituição parcial da areia natural por PET e PP (ambos pós-consumo) na forma de flocos em diversas formulações, objetivando a produção de concreto estrutural com agregados leves para a aplicação na construção civil. A pesquisa foi dividida em duas etapas: na primeira foi avaliado o teor adequado (em volume) em diferentes tempos de cura para cada polímero de maneira a garantir um bom desempenho mecânico em termos de resistência à compressão. Nesta etapa, o teor analisado que garantiu o melhor resultado foi o de10% tanto para o PET como para o PP. Na segunda etapa este teor foi utilizado para verificar a influência da adição destes resíduos no desempenho mecânico e na durabilidade do concreto para 28 e 90 dias de cura. Foram realizados ensaios de caracterização mecânica, física, química, térmica e morfológica das amostras com e sem adição dos flocos poliméricos. Os resultados da primeira etapa da pesquisa mostraram que o teor máximo com melhor desempenho mecânico foi de 10% v/v. Na segunda etapa, houve um pequeno decréscimo na resistência à compressão axial nas amostras com polímeros quando comparada à referência. Amostras com flocos de PET obtiveram menor teor de vazios e, portanto, menor absorção de água quando comparadas às amostras com PP, indicando uma possível melhor interação do PET com a matriz cimentícia. Para as amostras com PP, houve um maior teor de vazios e maior absorção de água quando comparados às amostras referência e com adição de PET. Entretanto, o PP agiu como excelente barreira à penetração dos íons cloretos, reduzindo a porcentagem de carga passante em comparação ao concreto com PET e referência, o que pode ser considerado como um resultado promissor ao se considerar seu uso (PP) como possível substituto da areia. / Recycling is an alternative to the use of plastic residues, thus contributing to the reduction of costs and preserving non-renewable natural resources. The construction sector has absorbed part of these residues, by transforming them into important by-products, which can have similar performance as the existing products and can also be considered as an environmentally friendly product. This study focus on the use to these residues to partially replace natural sand by PET and PP (both post-consumer) flakes in different contents (by volume), aiming to produce structural concrete with lightweight aggregate for civil construction use. The study was divided into two stages: in the first stage the ideal polymer content was evaluated at different curing ages in terms of compressive strength. In this this stage, the ideal polymer content that provided the best result was 10% for both PET and PP. In the second stage, this ideal polymer content was used to verify the influence of the use of these residues on the mechanical performance and durability of concrete for 28 and 90 days of curing. Mechanical characterization tests were performed, followed by physical, chemical, thermal and morphological characterization of specimens with and without the addition of polymer flakes. In the first stage of the research, it was observed a reduction in the compressive strength as the polymer content increases, except for the 10% content, which did not show major differences compared to the reference mix. In the second stage, it was observed a small decrease in the mechanical behaviour for the samples with polymer addition compared to the reference mix. In terms of durability, the specimens with PET addition presented lower void content and lower water absorption when compared to PP, which may indicate an improved interaction of PET flakes to the cementitious matrix. The specimens with PP presented higher void content and water absorption when compared to PET and reference mixes. However, the addition of PP seems to have acted as a barrier to the penetration of chloride ions, reducing the percentage of passing load compared to PET and reference mixes, which leads to the fact that this polymer (PP) may be a good option as sand replacement in structural concrete.

O objetivo desta dissertação é comparar o uso ou a omissão de preposições e artigos nas orações relativas de estudantes brasileiros de ELE e nativos de E. O estudo buscou verificar se os estudantes brasileiros de ELE utilizam o relativo acompanhado de preposição e artigo, quando o usam e como o fazem; quais contextos favorecem a elipse de preposição + artigo; se o comportamento sintático entre os estudantes brasileiros e os nativos se assemelha e quais as possibilidades para essas semelhanças / diferenças. Para tanto, analisamos um corpus recolhido de testes escritos de reformulação de orações de três grupos de estudantes brasileiros adultos de ELE e o comparamos às produções de reformulações de um grupo de nativos de E argentinos. De acordo com nossas hipóteses iniciais e bibliografia consultada, as orações cortadoras seriam as mais produzidas pelos estudantes, mas de acordo com nossos dados, essa não foi a opção mais usada, e sim a opção sem o artigo com preposição. Pensamos que isso se deve ao caráter mais formal (escrito) dos testes. Concluímos que os brasileiros, em sua língua nativa, não usariam tal estrutura, mas quando têm que lidar com o E, preferem cortar o artigo em vez de produzir uma estrutura que seja mais comum em PB como a cortadora. Em contrapartida, os nativos usaram com mais frequência as orações padrão, que quase não apareceram nos resultados dos estudantes brasileiros. Ou seja, o comportamento sintático dos estudantes brasileiros e dos nativos foram evidentemente diferentes. Os estudantes brasileiros nem sempre preferiram o uso de relativas com quien para antecedente [+animado], como predizem as gramáticas. Aliás, o uso das duas orações padrão (prep. + quien e prep.+ art. + que) foi bastante equilibrado. Os nativos de E, para o mesmo tipo de antecedente, usaram a oração padrão com o relativo que com maior frequência. Quando a oração relativa apresentou caráter causal, os informantes brasileiros e nativos foram levados a expressar essa relação causal e evitaram a oração relativa. / The objective of this dissertation is to compare the use or omission of prepositions in relative clauses and articles of Brazilian students of ELE and native E speakers. The study aimed at verifing whether the Brazilian students use prepositions, accompanied by the relative pronoun and articles, when they use and how they do that; contexts which favor the ellipse \"preposition + article\"; if the syntactic behavior among Brazilian students matches the native speakers and the possibilities for these similarities / differences. To this end, we collected a corpus reformulation\'s sentences of written tests of three groups of Brazilian adult students of ELE and compared to the production of reformulations of a group of Argentinian E. native speakers. According to our initial hypotheses and consulted literature, students produce more often pp-chopping sentences, but according to our data, this was not the preferred option, but the one without article and with preposition. We think this is due to the more formal nature of the (written) tests. We concluded that Brazilian students in their native language would not use such a structure, but when they have to deal with E, they prefer to cut the article instead of producing a structure that is more common in PB - like the pp-chopping. In contrast, the native speakers used standard sentences more often, which hardly ever appeared in the results of Brazilian students. That is, the syntactic behavior of Brazilian students and native speakers were evidently different. Brazilian students do not always preferred the use of relative pronoun using \"quien\" for the antecedent [+ animate], as grammatically expected. In fact, the use of two standard sentences (\"prep. + quien\" and \"prep. + art. + que) was fairly balanced. The native speakers of E, for the same type antecedent, used the standard sentence with the relative \"que\" with more frequency. When the relative clause introduced causal character, Brazilians and native speaker informants were led to express this causal relationship and avoided the relative clause.

The OECD's public discussion draft 'BEPS Action 6: Preventing the Granting of Treaty Benefits in Inappropriate Circumstances' proposed a series of rules for the OECD model. The draft for Article X, "Entitlement to Benefits," the first five paragraphs of which are described therein as "specific antiabuse rule aimed at treaty shopping", are meant to establish a limitation on benefits provision. Article X(6) contains a general antiabuse rule. The analysis carried out here shows that upon closer examination, the proposed antiabuse rule turns out to have no legal relevance. Yet the mere existence of this rule will cause uncertainty, and individual tax administrations and courts will not be deterred from using it as a basis for the denial of treaty benefits. Similar and equally justified criticism would also be directed against any other tax rule that makes combating tax avoidance subject to a combination of objective and subjective requirements. When it is not certain whether an arrangement chosen by a taxpayer is covered by a treaty provision, practitioners will not ask for the object and purpose of the treaty provision but will apply a vague antiabuse provision instead, and the facts will be assessed based on the practitioner's legal instinct and not from the law. Alternatively, tax administrations and courts will be tempted to restrict themselves to the alleged clear wording and to ignore the object and purpose of the legal provisions. If, however, the OECD cannot be prevented from introducing a general antiabuse rule similar to Article X(6) into the model, it will not only impair the quality of the OECD model but will also contribute to its loss of significance because not all states will be able to accept such a rule in their treaties. (author's abstract) / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

No description available.

The diploma thesis deals with the heterogeneous technique of preparation of grafted polypropylene g maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH). The knowledge of the course of the reaction and its impact on the PP grafting process are summarized in the theoretical part. The preparation of the grafted PP was carried out in a fluidized polymerization reactor at 115 °C, speed of mixing 210 rpm, reaction time 60 min and pressure 6 bar. The amount of grafted MAH was monitored by using a MAH concentration 3 and 5 wt% and an initiator concentration 0.25; 0.5; 1; and 1.5 wt%. Modification efficiency was compared by using 3 types of PP with different particle morphology and specific surface area. By creating the theoretical model, the maximum surface concentration of MAH was calculated and compared with experimental data. Characterization of PP materials was performed by Electron Scanning Microscopy (SEM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and particle surface analysis by BET. Quantitative analysis of grafted MAH was determined by FTIR spectroscopy and acid-base titration.