Desenvolvimento de estrutura sanduíche sustentável, fabricadas com o reuso de tampas de PP e garrafas PET

Abstract

This work presents the development of a sustainable sandwich structure using recycled materials from PET bottles and polypropylene (PP) caps. The PET bottles were ground and reprocessed in a thermal press to obtain films that acted as joining and stabilizing elements for the caps, used as the core. To validate the idea, the sandwich structure was laminated with the obtained core and also with a commercial PET core - ARMACELL GR80 GSP. To evaluate the structural performance, mechanical compression tests (ASTM C365) were performed on the cores and three-point bending tests (ASTM D790) on the complete sandwich structures. The results showed that the developed configuration presented an 18.75% improvement in the bending test compared to the commercial core, and the compression resistance of the PP core was 44.45% lower; however, this result can be considered positive since, when comparing PP and PET materials, polypropylene is 73.7% less resistant. Thus, the potential for reusing polymer waste in higher value-added applications is evident. The study confirms the feasibility of integrating recycled PET and PP caps into lightweight structural systems, offering an economically accessible, environmentally friendly alternative applicable to the composites industry.