Investigation on physical and mechanical properties of pulp–plastic composites from bagasse

ABSTRACT

High-density polyethylene (HDPE), bagasse fibers treated by four pulping processes (AS-AQ (alkaline sulfite anthraquinone), SODA-AQ (soda anthraquinone), MEA (monoethanolamine) and chemical–mechanical pulping (CMP)), three levels of nano-SiO₂ (0, 2, and 5 wt%), and maleic anhydride polyethylene as coupling agent were used to produce pulp–plastic composites (PPCs) by injection molding. The physical and mechanical properties of corresponding composites were evaluated according to ASTM standards. The results showed that compared to untreated bagasse/HDPE composite, the addition of bagasse pulp fibers increased significantly the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and modulus, flexural strength and modulus, and hardness. The chemical pulps-reinforced composites showed better mechanical strengths than that of CMP-reinforced composites, but in some properties, CMP pulp composites have comparable results to the chemical pulp-reinforced composites. Natural fibers (untreated and treated) increased water absorption and thickness swelling of composites compared to pure HDPE. The addition of nano-SiO₂ particles showed both increasing and decreasing trends on physical and mechanical properties ofPPCs.

KEYWORDS:

• Bagasse
• pulp–plastic composite
• nano-SiO₂
• pulping processes
• reinforced composite

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge Department of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, Natural Resources Faculty, University of Tehran, Iran for the testing equipment used in this study. Further acknowledgement goes to Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute (IPPI) for the laboratory equipment used in the PPC panel manufacture.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.