Mechanical and thermal properties of oil palm wood sawdust reinforced post-consumer polyethylene composites

Abstract

Post-consumer recycled high-density polyethylene (PCR-HDPE) composites reinforced with 30, 40, and 50% of oil palm wood sawdust (OWS) were prepared by compression moulding. The effects of the OWS content and the moulding temperature on the flexural and compressive properties of the composites were investigated and were found to be highly significant. Increases in the proportion of OWS in the matrix caused a gradual worsening in the mechanical properties of the composites. However, higher moulding temperatures moderately improved the mechanical properties. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis was used to study the viscoelastic behaviour, and thermogravimetric analysis was used to study the thermal stability of the composites. The storage and loss moduli gradually decreased with increasing temperature and significantly increased with increasing the proportion of OWS in the composites. The thermal stability of the composites slightly dropped with a higher OWS content. These results suggest that PCR-HDPE and OWS can be used to create composite materials with good mechanical and thermal properties.