Mechanical and rheological properties of recycled high‐density polyethylene and ronier palm leaf fiber based biocomposites

Abstract

Recycled plastic (rHDPE) was coupled with different weight percentage of ronier palm leaf fiber (RLFs) to prepare eco‐friendly polymer biocomposites. Fourier transform infrared analysis, tensile test, dynamic rheological test, hardness test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, and density measurement were used to determine the structural, mechanical, morphological and physical properties of the biocomposites. The modulus showed excellent improvement with the addition of RLFs. G′ and G″ were found to increase with the increment of both the filler content and the angular frequency. At low frequencies, the loss factor was increased with the frequency and decreased with the RLFs content. However, at high frequencies, it was decreased with both the angular frequency and the RLFs content. The complex viscosity η* was found to be increasing and decreasing with the RLFs content and the angular frequency, respectively. SEM micrographs of tensile fractured surfaces of biocomposites show pulled out RLFs zones and voids due to the presence of agglomeration. Finally, the experimental Young's modulus data was compared with theoretical predictions. A good fit was obtained with Einstein Model.

Preparation and Characterisation of Wood Polymer Composites Using Sustainable Raw Materials

“…Additionally, wood fillers can replace synthetic fillers to reduce environmental impacts and produce eco-friendly composite products. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) [ 11 ], polypropylene (PP) [ 10 , 12 ], polyethylene (PE) [ 10 , 13 ], polylactic acid (PLA) [ 14 ], polyvinyl chloride (PVC) [ 15 ] and polyurethane (PU) [ 16 ] are commonly used as the polymer matrices in WPCs. Among them, PP reinforced with wood fillers has been extensively studied for various industrial applications, [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ] including construction [ 23 ], furniture [ 24 ] and automotive applications [ 25 ].…”

Simulation of Wood Polymer Composites with Finite Element Analysis

“…Furthermore, there are some major WPC manufacturers in Australia, such as Tuff Deck-Composite Decking (Dandenong South, VIC, Australia), ModWood Technologies (Campbellfield, VIC, Australia) and Advanced Plastic Recycling (Edinburgh, SA, Australia). Prior to this, many researchers have used virgin polymers for the development of WPCs, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) [12], polypropylene (PP) [13,14], polyethylene (PE) [13,15], polylactic acid (PLA) [16], polyvinyl chloride (PVC) [17] and polyurethane (PU) [18], which are the most predominantly used materials as the polymer matrices in WPCs. Among the abovementioned polymers, polypropylene (PP) reinforced with wood fillers has been used for various industrial applications extensively [19][20][21].…”