Use of pyrolysed oil shale as filler in high density polyethylene

Pyrolysed oil shale was used as filler in mixtures with high density polyethylene. The effects of this addition were compared with the ones obtained with calcium carbonate. The compounds were prepared on a Haake equipped with mixing head Rheomix at 190°C with concentration of pyrolysed oil shale up to 20%. Tension curves showed the possibility of substituting calcium carbonate with the pyrolysed oil shale without damaging the mechanical properties of the compounds. The behaviour of these materials was evaluated taking into account the concentration and the size of the particles used. It was observed that particles with the smaller diameters showed best effects on the mechanical properties of the final material. The mechanical properties, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy results are discussed.