Mechanical properties of wood-plastic composites produced with recycled polyethylene, used Tetra Pak® boxes, and wood flour

Abstract

The recycling industry has developed rapidly in recent years. Paper, plastic, glass, and metals are the most recycled materials. In this study, composite boards were produced using recycled polyethylene (R-PE) mixed with used Tetra Pak® boxes (TPBs) and pine wood flour (PWF) as fillers. The ratios of TPB to wood flour used in study were 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%. Six test groups of composites were prepared. For each group, four composite boards of dimensions 4 × 180 × 220 mm3 were produced. Some of the mechanical properties of the produced boards, such as the flexural strength, flexural modulus, tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break, and Shore D hardness, were determined. The data obtained showed that the flexural modulus, tensile modulus, and density increased with the wood flour content. However, the flexural strength, tensile strength, and elongation at break decreased as the wood flour content was increased. As a result, it can be said that TPBs could be used as a filler instead of wood flour in the production of wood-plastic composites.

Physicomechanical Properties of Sustainable Wood Plastic Composites of Tropical Sawdust and Thermoplastic Waste for Possible Utilization in the Wood Industry

“…This might be attributed to good dispersion of SD in the rPE/rPET blend (Durmaz, 2022) [12]. The inconsistencies with regard to trends, of the effect on the increase of wood flour with respect to its effect on the bending strength of WPCs have been reported [30]. The variation in flexural strength of the composites was as the result of anisotropic nature of wood such that Journal of Sustainable Bioenergy Systems after a limit, load cannot be proportional to deformation [31].…”

Effect of content and particle size of used beverage carton pieces on the properties of HDPE composites

“…A thin aluminum sheet is also incorporated in the composition to improve UV resistance and oxygen barrier for aseptic cartons (Avella et al 2009). Several studies were published on the utilization of used beverage carton in the production of high value-added products (Ayrilmis et al 2008(Ayrilmis et al , 2013aSelim et al 2010;Umezuruike 2013;Yilgor et al 2014;Bekhta et al 2016;Robertson 2021;Bal 2022). One of the potential applications of the used Tetra Pak ® cartons is as a filler in polymer composites.…”

Waste Tetra Pak® beverage containers as reinforcement in polymer concrete

“…Composites with 40% Tetra Pak® particles showed a 43% improvement in flexural strength and 38% improvement in tensile strength, but the flexural and tensile modulidecreased by 17% and 15%, respectively. Thus, shredded Tetra Pak® is a better option than pine wood flour for obtaining higher mechanical properties in WPCs(Bal, 2022).Koh-Dzul et al (2023) fabricated sandwich construction panels with: a) an aluminum layer, followed by a Tetra Pak layer, and finally an aluminum layer, b) an aluminum layer, followed by a polyethylene/aluminum (P/A) layer, and finally an aluminum layer. Both types of panels had similar flexural strength values, but the panels with Tetra Pak layer are stiffer, less ductile and with lower thermal conductivity than those with P/A layers.…”