Effect of zinc oxide addition on decomposition temperature of ethylene vinyl acetate and polyethylene foam mixture

• Main Authors: Muslim, Opa Fajar, Novriadi, Dwi, Afrinaldi, Bambang, Ichsan, Muchamad Zain Nur, Rusmana, Dasep
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activation energy; Additives; Decomposition; Ethylene vinyl acetates; Heating rate; Mixtures; Molding machines; Pellets; Polyethylene; Polyethylenes; Pressure molding; Single screw extruders; Thermal decomposition; Thermogravimetric analysis; Zinc oxide; Zinc oxides
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0172837

The decomposition temperature of the material is one of the important factors in industrial processes. In this study, the effect of zinc oxide (ZnO) addition with various contents of 0, 2, 4 and 6 per hundred resin (phr) on onset temperature of a ethylene vinyl acetate and polyethylene (EVA/PE) foam mixture were investigated using a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at heating rate of 10 °C/min. Furthermore, the onset temperature and kinetic characteristics at various heating rate of 5 and 20 °C/min were also studied. Samples were prepared by two processes. Firstly, formulation was mixed by a single screw extruder which produced pellets. The pellets were then processed by a compression molding machine into foam. The results showed that the onset temperature increased with increasing ZnO content and heating rate. In general, the decomposition of samples with ZnO addition occurred in two stages. Meanwhile, the sample with 0 phr of ZnO content had three stages of decomposition. It began with the loss of additives and an-organic content and the second and third stage were the decomposition of ethylene vinyl acetate and Polyethylene, respectively. In addition, the kinetics characteristics of thermal decomposition of EVA/PE foam mixture were calculated by the Coast Redfern equation. Interestingly, the activation energy decreased with increasing ZnO content. Finally, the activation energy on sample with 0 phr of ZnO decreased with increasing heating rate until 10 °C/min and then increased again at a heating rate of 20 °C/min for each stage. Meanwhile, the activation energy of samples with the addition of ZnO generally increased with increasing heating rate at each stage of decomposition.