Chapters authored
Characterization of Rice Husk Biofibre-Reinforced Recycled Thermoplastic Blend Biocomposite
In this century, the developing country has a high potential towards the growth of green composites, and therefore there is significant achievement in green technology especially in the field of building constructions and automotive because of the environment and sustainability issues. The market for development of advanced biocomposite materials produced from biomass and recyclable post-consumer plastics is increasing. Natural fibre-reinforced biocomposites based on rice husk biofibre (RHB), recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) were prepared through a two-step extrusion and hot pressing. The influence of thermoplastic blend (TPB) matrix types (uncompatibilized and compatibilized with 5 parts per hundred compound (phc) ethylene-glycidyl methacrylate (E-GMA) copolymer) and high fibre contents of 50, 60, 70 and 80 wt% RHB on the composite properties was studied. Maleic anhydride polyethylene (MAPE) was added as a coupling agent to enhance the interfacial adhesion of the fibre-matrix phases. Results showed that water absorption, thickness swelling (TS) and tensile and flexural properties enhanced tremendously with the increase of rice husk filler loadings. Biocomposites based on compatibilized blend matrix exhibited higher mechanical properties and dimensional stability than those based on uncompatibilized ones. Thermal analysis results from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated the notable improvement in thermal stability as the added rice husk (RH) fibre content increased. From these results, we can conclude that RHF can work well with rHDPE/rPET thermoplastic blend for manufacturing high loading biocomposite products.
Part of the book: Composites from Renewable and Sustainable Materials