Characterisation of Polypropylene Composite Reinforced with Chemi-Thermomechanical Pulp from Oil Palm Trunk via Injection Moulding Process

Abstract

As the products made from wood–plastic composites (WPCs) become more sophisticated and required more detail profiles, the injection moulding processing method with wood pulp as the reinforcing material is the answer to cater to the rapid change and demands of composite products. The general objective of this study was to study the effects of the material formulation, as well as the injection moulding process parameters, on the properties of a polypropylene composite reinforced with chemi-thermomechanical pulp from oil palm trunks (PP/OPTP composite) via the injection moulding process. The PP/OPTP composite with a material formulation of 70% pulp/26% PP/4% Exxelor PO produced using injection moulding at 80 °C as the mould temperature and with 50 tonnes of injection pressure exhibited the highest physical and mechanical properties. The increment loading of pulp increased the water absorption capacity of the composite. Higher loading of the coupling agent effectively reduced the water absorption capacity and increased the flexural strength of the composite. The increase in mould temperature from unheated to 80 °C prevented excessive heat loss of the flowing material, which enabled the molten material to flow better and filled up all cavities in the mould. The increased injection pressure slightly improved the physical properties of the composite, but the effect on the mechanical properties was insignificant. For the future development of WPCs, further studies should be focused on the viscosity behaviour, as a greater understanding of the processing parameters’ effects on the PP/OPTP’s viscosity behaviour will lead to improved product design and enable great potential usage of WPCs.

Fabrication of Thermal Bio-Insulator From Oil Palm Trunk Fiber: Analysis of Thermal, Physical and Mechanical Properties

“…In their work, Selamat et al [14] conducted a comparison between the utilization of OPT and rice husk as fillers in gypsum composites for the production of construction products. Lee et al have developed a wood plastic composite (WPC) by investigating the characteristics of polypropylene mixed with chemothermomechanical pulp from OPT [15].…”

Mechanical Properties Variation in Wood—Plastic Composites with a Mixed Wood Fiber Size

“…When it comes to using WPCs in structural building, various factors affect their physical and mechanical properties. These factors include the wood species [3,4], the mass ratio of the wood fibers to plastic [5], the type and amount of coupling agent [6,7], the content of lubricant [8], the uniformity and cross-section design of the composites [9], and the processing temperature and pressure [10]. Another critical factor is the size of the wood fibers, which significantly influences the mechanical performance of WPCs.…”