Controlled Degradation of Polypropylene by Reactive Extrusion

Controlled degradation of polypropylene is conducted in a single screw extruder using a peroxide initiator. Melt flow index was measured to study the effect of peroxide concentration and extrusion temperature on molecular weight. The increase in the melt flow index has been found to be mainly influenced by the peroxide concentration, not by the barrel temperature. Little change in melt flow index was seen after second extrusion. This is a clear evidence that total decomposition of peroxide was carried out in the extruder.