Assessment of Dimensional Stability, Biodegradability, and Fracture Energy of Bio-Composites Reinforced with Novel Pine Cone.

Kanishka Jha,Changhe Li,Rushdan Ahmad Ilyas,Rajeev Kumar,Muhammad Roslim Muhammad Huzaifah,Ambuj Saxena,Shashi Prakash Dwivedi,Yogesh K Tyagi,Shubham Sharma,Alokesh Pramanik

doi:10.3390/polym13193260

Abstract

In this investigation, biodegradable composites were fabricated with polycaprolactone (PCL) matrix reinforced with pine cone powder (15%, 30%, and 45% by weight) and compatibilized with graphite powder (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% by weight) in polycaprolactone matrix by compression molding technique. The samples were prepared as per ASTM standard and tested for dimensional stability, biodegradability, and fracture energy with scanning electron micrographs. Water-absorption and thickness-swelling were performed to examine the dimensional stability and tests were performed at 23 °C and 50% humidity. Results revealed that the composites with 15 wt % of pine cone powder (PCP) have shown higher dimensional stability as compared to other composites. Bio-composites containing 15–45 wt % of PCP with low graphite content have shown higher disintegration rate than neat PCL. Fracture energy for crack initiation in bio-composites was increased by 68% with 30% PCP. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the composites have shown evenly-distributed PCP particles throughout PCL-matrix at significantly high-degrees or quantities of reinforcing.

Highlights

From the very beginning, fire outbreak and rate of spread of forest fire were dominantly affected by the various forest waste and Pines roxburghii flower in northern part of India is one of these main sources [1,2]
PCL and calcium sulphate (CS) whisker composites were fabricated with different whisker weight percentages and the authors reported that lower weight fractions of reinforcement resulted throughout excellent massive enhancement in (21%) flexibility and (22%) toughness, while the thermal characteristics were unlikely to be affected by the existence of CS-whiskers
It was evident from the results that neat PCL had maximum sorption coefficient as compared to the samples with pine cone powder (PCP) content, which displays that pine cone enhanced the hydrophobicity of Polymers 2021, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEtWhe composite

Summary

Introduction

Fire outbreak and rate of spread of forest fire were dominantly affected by the various forest waste and Pines roxburghii (pine cone) flower in northern part of India is one of these main sources [1,2]. The burgeoning awareness regarding forest fuel in spreading fire has lead to the development of numerous solutions [3] One such kernels of an idea is to use dried pine cones to develop composite materials for non-structural applications. PCL and calcium sulphate (CS) whisker composites were fabricated with different whisker weight percentages and the authors reported that lower weight fractions of reinforcement resulted throughout excellent massive enhancement in (21%) flexibility and (22%) toughness, while the thermal characteristics were unlikely to be affected by the existence of CS-whiskers They found numerous applications as construction material [19,20]. Further mechanical properties were enhanced by modifying the continuous phase through graphite addition

Experimentation

Water Absorptivity

Fracture Energy

Morphology

Conclusions