Recycled polymer compositions

1 . A container obtained by extrusion blow molding from a recycled polymer composition, the recycled polymer composition comprising:

a) 80 to 99.5 wt. % of a post-consumer recycle polymer containing 85 to 99.5 wt. % of a recycled high density polyethylene and 0.5 to 15 wt. % of a recycled polypropylene, based on total weight of the post-consumer recycle polymer;

b) 0.5 to 20 wt. % of a styrenic block copolymer having a block A derived from a vinyl aromatic monomer and a block B derived from a conjugated diene monomer, wherein the styrenic block copolymer has:

a polystyrene content of less than 45 wt. %, and

a molecular weight (M p ) of less than 400 kg/mol; and

c) up to 10 wt. % of at least an additive, based on total weight of the recycled polymer composition; and

wherein the container has a wall thickness of 0.1 to 10 mm and is characterized as:

having a top load strength at 23° C. of less than 200 N,

passing a drop impact resistance test when dropped vertically at 23° C. from a height of greater than 3.0 m, and

passing a drop impact resistance test when dropped vertically at 0° C. from a height of greater than 2.5 m.

2 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the container has a top load strength of 140 to 190 N.

3 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the container passes a drop impact resistance test when dropped vertically at 23° C. from a height of 3.0 to 6.5 m.

4 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the container passes a drop impact resistance test when dropped vertically at 23° C. from a height of 4.0 to 6.0 m.

5 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the container passes a drop impact resistance test when dropped vertically at 0° C. from a height of 2.5 to 6.0 m.

6 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the container passes a drop impact resistance test when dropped vertically at 0° C. from a height of 3.2 to 5.8 m.

7 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the recycled polymer composition comprises:

a) 85 to 99 wt. % of the post-consumer recycle polymer containing 90 to 98 wt. % of the recycled high density polyethylene and 2 to 10 wt. % of the recycled polypropylene, based on total weight of the post-consumer recycle polymer; and

b) 1 to 15 wt. % of the styrenic block copolymer, based on total weight of the recycled polymer composition.

8 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the recycled high density polyethylene has a molecular weight (M p ) of 5 to 2000 kg/mol and a density of greater than 0.93 g/cm 3 .

9 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the styrenic block copolymer has a general configuration selected from: A-B, A-B-A, A-B-B′, A-B-B′-A, A-B-A-B′-A, A-B-B′-A, A-B-A-B′-A, (A-B) n X, (A-B-A) nX, (A-B-B′) n X, (A-B-B′-A) n X, (A-B-A-B′-A) n X, D-B-A, D-A-B, D-B-A-B-D, D-A-B-A-D, (D-B-A) n X, (D-A-B) n X, (D-A-B) n X, A-B-X m -(B-A) n , and mixtures thereof, X is a residue of a coupling agent, and n is a positive integer from 2-30; and wherein

each block A is derived from a vinyl aromatic monomer selected from the group consisting of styrene, alpha-methylstyrene, methyl styrene, para-methylstyrene, para-ethylstyrene, para-n-propylstyrene, para-iso-propylstyrene, para-n-butylstyrene, para-sec-butylstyrene, para-iso-butylstyrene, para-t-butylstyrene, isomers of para-decylstyrene, isomers of para-dodecylstyrene, dimethyl styrene, halogenated styrene, methoxy styrene, acetoxy styrene, vinyl toluene, isomers of vinyl toluene, vinyl xylene, 1,1 vinyl biphenyl, vinyl naphthalene, vinyl anthracene, and mixtures thereof;

each block B and B′ is same or different and derived from a conjugated diene monomer, selected from the group consisting of 1,3-butadiene, isoprene, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene, 1-phenyl-1,3-butadiene, 1,3-pentadiene, 1,3-hexadiene, 3-butyl-1,3-octadiene, myrcene, farnesene, 1,3-cyclohexadiene, piperylene, and mixtures thereof; and

each block D is derived from a para-substituted styrene monomer.

10 . The container of claim 9 , wherein the para-substituted styrene monomer is selected from the group consisting of para-methylstyrene, para-ethylstyrene, para-n-propylstyrene, para-iso-propylstyrene, para-n-butylstyrene, para-sec-butylstyrene, para-iso-butylstyrene, para-t-butylstyrene, isomers of para-decylstyrene, isomers of para-dodecylstyrene, and mixtures thereof.

11 . The container of claim 9 , wherein the block A constitutes from 30 to 70 wt. %, the block B constitutes from 30 to 70 wt. %; and the block D, if present, constitutes from 20 to 60 wt. %, based on total weight of the styrenic block copolymer.

12 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the block A has a hydrogenation level of less than 30 mol %, based on total mol of the polymerized vinyl aromatic monomer in the block A; and the block B has a hydrogenation level of >70 mol %, based on total mol of the polymerized conjugated diene monomer in the block B.

13 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the styrenic block copolymer has a polystyrene content of 10 to 45 wt. %, based on total weight of the styrenic block copolymer.

14 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the styrenic block copolymer has a molecular weight (M p ) of 30 to 300 kg/mol.

15 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the additive is selected from the group consisting of curing agents, stabilizers, slip agents, release agents, antimicrobial agents, antioxidants, antiozonants, color change pH indicators, plasticizers, tackifiers, dyes, pigments, UV stabilizers, UV absorbers, catalysts, fillers, flame retardants, viscosity modifiers, toughening agents, heat stabilizers, lubricants, flow modifiers, drip retardants, antistatic agents, processing aids, stress-relief additives, blowing agents, weld line strength promoter, and mixtures thereof.

16 . The container of claim 15 , wherein the additive is present in an amount of 0.1 to 10 wt. %, based on total weight of the recycled polymer composition.

17 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the recycled polymer composition further comprises a virgin high density polyethylene in an amount of 1 to 50 wt. %, based on total weight of the polymer components in the recycled polymer composition.

18 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the recycled polymer composition is prepared by a dry blending process or a compounding process.

19 . The container of claim 18 , wherein the recycled polymer composition is prepared by a dry blending process at a temperature of 380 to 460° F.

20 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the recycled polymer composition has a melt flow rate at 230° C. with 5 kg load of 0.1 to 7.5 g/10 min, measured according to ISO 1133.