Evaluation of corn husk fibers reinforced recycled low density polyethylene composites

Published Date
15 February 2015, Vol.152:26–33, doi:10.1016/j.matchemphys.2014.12.004

Author 

Ahmed M. Youssef ^a,,

Ahmed El-Gendy ^b

Samir Kamel ^b

aPacking & Packaging Materials Department, National Research Center, Dokki, P.C. 12622, Cairo, Egypt

bCellulose and Paper Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

Received 14 August 2014. Revised 28 November 2014. Accepted 5 December 2014. Available online 17 December 2014. 

Highlights

• New composite based on recycled LDPE and corn husk fibers has been prepared.
• •
  The prepared composite has a benefit of minimizing solid waste problem.
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  The prepared composites were characterized using XRD, FTIR and DSC.
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  Crystallization behaviors, mechanical and swilling properties of the prepared composites were investigated.

Abstract

Responding to the community demand for disposal of environmental problematic agricultural and polymer waste, composite sheets using recycled low-density polyethylene (R-LDPE) and corn husk fibers were prepared by melt compounding and compression molding. These composites were prepared in different concentrations (5, 10, 15, and 20%) of powder corn husk with 125 μ particle size based on R-LDPE matrix. Beside the importance of property improvement, an additional incentive was responding to the social demand for the disposal of environmental problematic agricultural waste. The influence of loading rate on R-LDPE crystallization behavior, mechanical, and swilling properties were investigated. Increasing in fiber loading led to increased moduli and tensile strength while hardness was decreased. X-ray diffraction (XRD) examinations indicated that introducing fiber to R-LDPE matrix did not change characteristic peak position. The thermal stability of the prepared composites was evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) which displayed that the R-LDPE had significantly larger peak heat flow during cooling run than the blank R-LDPE, indicating higher crystallization rates for R-LDPE. The prepared composites materials can be used in packaging applications.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

• Polymers and composite materials
• Hot working
• Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
• Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) mechanical properties
• Mechanical testing

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  Corresponding author.
  
  

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