The effect of MAPE as compatibilizer on mechanical and morphological properties of a wheat straw/high density polyethylene composite was investigated. Tensile strength, tensile modulus, tensile energy absorption, failure strain, and notched Izod toughness were much higher for composites with compatibilizer as compared with the composites with no compatibilizer. The use of 2% compatibilizer improved the tensile strength as high as 43%, tensile modulus to 116% and impact strength (notched) by 12%. Remarkably improvements were attained even with 1% compatibilizer. There was little difference in the properties obtained between the 1% and 2% compatibilizer. SEM micrographs of tensile fracture surfaces with 2% compatibilizer indicated a continuous failure and the particles are not released from the matrix which is the case in samples without compatibilizer.

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As the major component of WPCs, wood flour species plays an important role on the properties of the resulting composites. The effect of wood species as filler and reinforcement and MAPE as compatibilizer on mechanical properties of wood flour/high-density polyethylene composite was investigated. The wood species used in this study were loblolly pine and hybrid Euro-American poplar. The mechanical properties such as tensile properties and notched impact toughness were tested. Poplar flour provides an improvement in tensile strength, tensile modulus, tensile energy absorption, and failure strain over pine. Tensile strength of both the composites was much higher for compatibilized composites as compared with uncompatibilized ones. For the pine composites, tensile modulus improvements were attained even with 1% compatibilizer. There was little difference in the properties obtained between the 1% and 2% compatibilizer. For the poplar composites, adding 1% compatibilizer did not have significant effect on tensile modulus and there was a significant drop in tensile modulus with further 2% increase in the compatibilizer. Wood species and compatibilizer percent did not have significant effect on the notched Izod toughness.

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