Compounding and mixing of polymers

Polymers, except a few, require the incorporation of judiciously selected additives to ease their processing and to improve performance. The introduction of additives into a polymer matrix is technically described as compounding. The selection of the ingredients and the optimization of compounding procedures has always been a challenging job for polymer scientists and engineers. Because of the diversity of polymers in their physical and chemical aspects, including their molecular architecture, a careful approach is always required in the compounding process to get a better performance/cost ratio. Proper compounding techniques to get a uniform distribution of micro- and nanoparticulates in polymer matrices during the development of micro/nanocomposites are still a challenge before industrialists and researchers. This chapter presents a systematic account of the conventional and modern approaches regarding the selection of ingredients, their classification, role, incorporation techniques, interaction with a variety of matrices and performance evaluation. Separate descriptions are added for plastics and rubbers, in both the latex and dry forms. Special attention is given to highlight the features of compounding machinery. A review of the earlier literature on polymer compounding is included. The new strategies in compound design and management are discussed.