Abstract
Composites of palm fiber and polypropylene were compounded using a mixing equipment connected to an extruder. The composites were then injection molded into standard tensile specimens for mechanical characterization. The fracture morphology of the specimens was also analyzed by Scanning electron microscopy. It was observed that as the fiber content increases the composite modulus also increases, which is an indication for the existence of adhesion to some degree between polypropylene and the much stiffer palm fiber. However, the adhesion is not satisfactory, resulting in decrease in composite tensile strength with fiber addition. The compatibilizer Epolene G-3003 was used to minimize this incompatibility between the wood fibers and the polypropylene matrix. Utilizing Epolene G-3003 improved the fiber-matrix adhesion, resulting in a significant improvement in composite performance. The composite strength with 40wt% fiber content and 6wt% compatibilizer almost reached the strength of pure polypropylene.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 483-503 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | International Journal of Polymeric Materials and Polymeric Biomaterials |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2005 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Received 20 September 2003; in final form 27 September 2003. This project has been funded by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology under Project # ARP 18-14. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the assistance of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, in particular the Research Institute, in the performance of this work. Address correspondence to Dr. Ramazan Kahraman, Chemical Engineering Department, KFUPM, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia. E-mail: [email protected]
Keywords
- Cellulose
- Compatibilizer
- Composite
- Maleated polypropylene
- Palm
- Polypropylene
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Analytical Chemistry
- General Chemical Engineering
- Polymers and Plastics
