Preparation and characterisation of polyvinyl alcohol/oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre composite

Abstract

This paper focusses on the effect of thermal ageing and mechanical properties of empty fruit bunch filled polyvinyl alcohol composites. A composite plate with various volume fractions from 0·5 to 3 wt-% of empty fruit bunch was fabricated. The composites were created by a casting evaporation technique. Generally, there appears to be intimate contact between empty fruit bunch fibre and polyvinyl alcohol. In composites with higher fibre content, there is a greater tendency for filler interaction to take place. The results showed that the addition of 1 wt-% of empty fruit bunch fibre increased the tensile strength and modulus of the polyvinyl alcohol/empty fruit bunch fibre composite. There was a further increase in the mechanical properties of all the samples after thermal ageing at 50°C for 6 hours.

Keywords:

• Empty fruit bunch
• Polyvinyl alcohol
• Mechanical properties
• Thermal ageing
• Morphology
• Casting
• Biocomposite

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from RP011A-13AET, CG013-2013, ER014-2012A, RU022A-2014, and FP030-2013A for the success of this project.