CHARACTERIZATION OF RECYCLED LINEAR DENSITY POLYETHYLENE/IMPERATA CYLINDRICA PARTICULATE COMPOSITES

Olusola Femi Olusunmade,Sunday Zechariah,Taofeek Ayotunde Yusuf

doi:10.14311/ap.2018.58.0195

Olusola Femi Olusunmade, Sunday Zechariah + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.14311/ap.2018.58.0195

Copy DOI

Abstract

Water-sachets made from low density polyethylene (LDPE) form a bulk of plastic wastes which creates environmental challenges, while certain species of plants like Imperata cylindrica constitute large portion of weeds on farm lands. As a technological approach to the reduction and utilization of these materials, composites of Imperata cylindrica (IC) particulate and synthetic polymer (from recycled waste water-sachets) were produced and evaluated for several mechanical and physical properties. The production of the composites and testing were done using the standard methods available in the literature. The results showed an increase in tensile modulus, hardness, impact strength, and water absorption of the composite in comparison with unreinforced polymer, as the IC particulate loading increased from 5 wt% to 30 wt%. However, there was a decrease in tensile strength, percentage elongation at break and density of the composite as the particulate loading increased from 5 wt% to 30 wt%. The combination of the recycled waste water-sachets and IC particulate is really promising for composites development. This creates opportunities to reduce LDPE wastes and add economic importance to an otherwise agricultural menace. It will mean creating an economic value from “wastes”.

Highlights

The development of composite materials, natural fibre composites, has become increasingly popular
It was observed that there was a decrease of 16.48 % to 34.07 % in the average tensile strength of the composite as the Imperata cylindrica (IC) particulate loading increased from 5 wt% to 30 wt% compared to the recycled linear low density polyethylene (RLDPE)
There was an increment of 6.39 % in the average tensile strength of the composite for particulate loading from 5 wt% to 15 wt%

Summary

Introduction

The development of composite materials, natural fibre composites, has become increasingly popular. As a result of increasing demand for the packed water, there has been a rise in the amount of waste watersachets generated These empty sachets often end up thrown away on the streets creating large amount of non-biodegradable waste. There is, a need for a responsible handling of these wastes One of such efforts targeted at utilizing the waste water-sachets is by incorporating natural fibres into them to produce a usable composite materials. Natural fibres could serve as viable and abundant alternatives to the expensive and non-renewable synthetic fibres as reinforcement in thermoplastic composites These types of fibres present many advantages compared to synthetic fibres, such as low tool wear, low density, cheaper cost, availability and biodegradability [3, 4].

Methods

Results

Conclusion