Comparative investigation of the influence of stone-dust particles and bagasse fiber on the mechanical and physical properties of reinforced recycled high-density polyethylene bio-composites

Abstract

One of the main purposes of this research is to control environmental pollution and mitigate the impact of ignorantly discarded waste plastics in the environment through recycling of such plastics and using them to develop innovative composite materials. The present work investigates the influence of stone-dust particles and bagasse fiber on the mechanical and physical properties of reinforced recycled high-density polyethylene bio-composites. The bagasse fiber was first treated with 0.5 m NaOH solution at a temperature of 50°C for 2 h in order to improve the surface morphology and also modified the mechanical properties of the fiber. Likewise, the stone-dust particles were analyzed by using a standard sieve shaker to obtain particle sizes of 75 μm. Both reinforcements were used for composite development through the compression molding technique and the samples were subjected to mechanical and physical properties tests in accordance with standards. Analysis of the results revealed that flexural, hardness, wear, and hydrophobicity of the developed bio-composites were improved by stone-dust particles. The flexural strength at peak and modulus were enhanced by 88% and 92%, respectively. Also, it was discovered that, tensile, impact and thermal conductivity properties of the bio-composites were improved by bagasse fiber. The ultimate tensile strength and Young’s modulus were enhanced by 43% and 34%, respectively. Hence, the blend of these by-products showed that they are potential bio-materials for the development of bio-composites.