Influence of process parameters on property of PP/EPDM blends prepared by a novel vane extruder

In this study, thermoplastic elastomers based on polypropylene (PP) and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM) were prepared via direct melt blending in a novel vane extruder. The influence of processing-temperature and rotor speed on the degree of cross-linking of the EPDM phase, the tensile properties, the melting behavior and the crystallization morphology of PP/EPDM blends was investigated. It was observed that the volume fraction (V-r) of the vulcanizate arriving swelling equilibrium reached the maximum value when the processing temperature was 190 degrees C. The tensile properties showed better-performance at 195 degrees C, at which the PP/EPDM blend obtained good dispersive mixing performance. Moreover, the V-r of the vulcanizate arriving swelling equilibrium reached the maximum value when the rotor speed was 60 rpm, at which the dispersive mixing performance and tensile properties of the PP/EPDM blend were better.