Increased Water Resistance of Bamboo Flour/Polyethylene Composites

Abstract

To improve the water resistance of bamboo flour/high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites, the effects of plastic content, coupling agents, and the addition of micro-fibrillated cellulose (MFC) on formulations were studied, and their rheological and mechanical properties were evaluated. The composites were prepared by injecting molding with a basic composition of equivalent amounts of bamboo flour and HDPE, and the melting fluidity of the compounds, tensile strength, and tensile modulus of the composites were determined. An increase in water resistance was detected in all three tests. By increasing the plastic content, negative effects such as a decreased tensile modulus were observed. When evaluating the compatibility between bamboo flour and plastic using coupling agents and MFC addition, positive effects were noted for water resistance, melting fluidity, and tensile modulus. We also confirmed that the procedure used to increase the compatibility between bamboo flour and plastic could easily be used for industrial applications by changing the coupling agents. Overall, a novel positive property (increased tensile modulus) and an increased water resistance were observed after MFC addition.

Keywords:

• Bamboo
• polypropylene
• water resistance
• wood plastic composites
• micro-fibrillated cellulose

Acknowledgments

This work was supported a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) (Grant No. 22780159) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan.