The Effect of Adding MCC on the Mechanical Strength of the HDPE-Water Hyacinth Bio-Composite

Abstract

This research aims to determine the effect of adding Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) to Bio-composites. MCC was put into a mixture of HDPE matrix and water hyacinth with a volume ratio of 0% and 1% MCC. Composites are made through extrusion and hot-pressing processes. The mechanical and physical properties of the composite were tested to determine the effect of adding MCC. The results of this study showed that the addition of 1% MCC increased the tensile strength by 4.6% with a strength of 30.81 MPa and a modulus of elasticity of 2190.63 MPa. The same thing happened during physical testing through density testing, where the addition of 1% MCC could increase the density to 1.016 gr/cm3. SEM testing was also carried out in this study, the results showed that the composite surface with the addition of MCC, voids and gaps that were previously seen to be closed by MCC so that the transfer of stress between the matrix and the fiber is better.