Compatibility studies of in-house prepared sustainable wood-plastic composites with commercial composites

Abstract

In the present research, sustainable wood-plastic composites (WPCs) were produced utilizing recycled expanded polystyrene (EPS) and biomass like sawdust and rice husk. A compatibility analysis was conducted to compare the physico-mechanical properties of the WPCs prepared in-house with those of commercial WPCs and a commercial plywood material. The experiments were carried out following standard procedures and under identical conditions. The results indicated that the WPCs produced in-house demonstrated superior physico-mechanical properties compared to the commercial WPCs, depending on the polymer content mixed. The study also revealed the increase in tensile strength was approximately 2.3 to 3.1 times which was higher than that of the commercial composites, and the in-house WPCs also exhibited better tensile modulus. The flexural strength of the in-house composites increased by approximately four times, and the compression strength increased by about four to eight times when compared to the commercial composites. The estimated hardness and impact strength values of the in-house WPCs were relatively like those of the commercial materials. However, the in-house composites exhibited significantly lower water absorption capacity compared to the commercial composites and plywood. In conclusion, the in-house produced WPCs demonstrated excellent physico-mechanical properties compared to commercial composites, while their properties were comparable to commercial plywood in most cases. These findings suggest that the in-house prepared WPCs can be utilized in various applications.