Reliability and Mechanical Properties of Materials Recycled from Multilayer Flexible Packages

Present work proposes a recycling form of multilayer food packages to avoid their incineration, landfill of wastes or re-using of their individual components. The manufacturing process of the material consists of binding several sheets by the non-simultaneous application of temperature and pressure, these being bound by the fusion of the polyethylene, without any other adhesives. The influence of elected variables (temperature, pressure, time and number of sheets) on the mechanical properties is determined. Bending tests in three points were carried out, with the purpose of obtaining flexural strength and flexural modulus. Finally, the reliability was determined through the method of Weibull using different failure estimators for the most appropriate materials (relative to flexural strength and porosity values). Light microscopy to obtain information about defectology before and after tests was used. The results obtained by this type of material are very similar to those presented by wood-based materials and present good reliability from the strength point of view.