Chakaphan Ngaowthong.. Natural fiber reinforced polypropylene and polylactic acid composites structure, properties, relationship and their recycle. Doctoral Degree(Mechanical Engineering (International Program)). King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok. Central Library. : King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok, 2018.
Natural fiber reinforced polypropylene and polylactic acid composites structure, properties, relationship and their recycle
Abstract:
Biocomposites made from biodegradable polymer as matrix and natural fiber as
reinforcement are certainly environmentally friendly materials. Both constituent
materials are fully biodegradable and do not leave any noxious components on Earth.
And in the current scenario, the recycling / recovery / management of plastic is a cause
for concern. Researchers are increasingly interested in the field of recycling of waste
material from plastic and wood manufacturing processes could be recycled to produce
value-added products. Major aims of this work were to study the structure-property
relationships and their recycle of natural fibers composites. Following abstracts of the
present research work are manifold:
Recycled thermoplastic polymer/natural fibers composites (case study)
Recycled polypropylene (rPP)/hemp woody core fiber composites
Natural fiber composites composed of polypropylene/three and five times
recycled polypropylene, maleic anhydride-graft-polypropylene, and hemp woody core
fiber were produced by two-roll mill mixing. The hemp woody core fiber was treated
by alkaline. The morphology of the polypropylene/hemp woody core fiber composites
was studied by scanning electron microscopy technique. The mechanical and thermomechanical
properties of the polypropylene/hemp woody core fiber composites were
determined in tensile, flexural tests, and thermogravimetric analysis, respectively, and
discussed. It was found that incorporation of hemp woody core fiber in polypropylene
increased the tensile and flexural modulus. Note that the stiffness of short hemp woody
core fiber/polypropylene composites was markedly improved. However, the flexural
and impact strength of polypropylene/hemp woody core fiber composites was reduced
compared to the neat polypropylene. Incorporation of hemp fiber increased the water
uptake compared to the neat polypropylene. It was established that the Ficks law was
fairly applicable to the water absorption results. The stiffness and thermogravimetric
analysis behavior of the polypropylene/hemp woody core fiber composites were
markedly affected by the surface treatments.
Recycled natural fibers polymer composites
Polypropylene and Polylactic acid/sisal fiber composites
In this work PP (polypropylene)/sisal fiber and PLA (polylactic acid)/sisal fiber
composites were prepared. The composites were recycled for five times and the
morphology, thermo mechanical and water absorption studies were carried out.
Interestingly, the tensile properties of the PP/sisal composites remain the same
irrespective of the recycling. On the other hand, PLA based composites shows complete
degradation after three cycles. In fact, the PLA based composites shows a dramatic
decrease in tensile strength after the third cycle. The thermal stability of the PP
composites remains almost same, however the PLA based composites show marginal
decrease. The DSC heating and cooling shows increased percentage of crystallinity
with increasing the recycling and is more pronounced in the case of PLA based
composites. Water diffusion study shows that the diffusion of water into the polymer
composites reduces with recycling. To conclude PLA based composites is not able to
retain thermomechanical properties after recycling when compared with PP.
King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok. Central Library