Thermal degradation of polymethyl methacrylate in multiple extrusions

Abstract

This work presents a kinetic study of thermal degradation of polymethyl metacrylate (PMMA). This material was subject of five extrusion cycles in a single barrel screw extruder, and results for raw and reprocessed material are presented. Glass transition temperature (by DSC), melt flow index, and temperature of maximum weight loss rate (by TGA) were determined in samples taken after each reprocessing. Results from thermogravimetric analysis were used to get the kinetic triplet by isoconversional, non-isoconversional, and dynamic methods as it is reported in literature. It was found that heating shifts to the right TG, DTG, and conversion curves. Activation energy values found with non-isoconversional differential methods tend to be higher than those found with integral methods. Also the activation energy increased with reprocessing, while the probability or collision factor increased with the heating rate.