Abstract
Material recycling of silane cross-linked polyethylene used for insulation of wires and cables is difficult because it is not thermoplastic. We have studied selective decomposition of siloxane bond which consist in cross-linking point to make silane cross-linked polyethylene thermoplastic by using supercritical alcohol. In this article, we show new continuous process using extruder for the treatment of supercritical fluid. The gel fraction of recycled polyethylene made by new continuous process was almost 0% when silane cross-linked polyethylene was treated in the range of 325-340 degrees centigrade. It means that siloxane bond practically decomposed. Moreover we revealed that the 600V rating cross-linked polyethylene cable using recycled polyethylene as insulation had a good appearance and satisfied the standard(JIS C 3605).These results indicate that material recycling of silane cross-linked polyethylene will be possible by using supercritical alcohol.
