Recycling of Polymethyl Methacrylate Waste Using A Nature-Derived Biodegradable Polymer

This work investigated the recycling of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) waste using a nature-derived biodegradable polymer, aiming to improve the biodegradabilité of the recycled PMMA. In this context, the biopolymer chitosan (Cs) was used. The recycled PMMA was generated by an extrusion process for the manufacturing of sheets. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance mode (FTIR-ATR) spectra did not reveal changes in the chemical structure of recycled PMMA/Cs blends compared to virgin PMMA/Cs samples, indicating that chain scission reactions, is the dominant degradation mechanism of PMMA during processing. The dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) results reveal a single value of glass transition temperature (Tg) for the blends, implying miscibility of the components. Recycled PMMA/Cs samples exhibit slightly lower values of T_g compared to virgin PMMA/Cs blends. The recycled PMMA slightly reduces the thermal stability of the blends. In contrast, it improves the water uptake of the bio-blends comparing to virgin PMMA.