Development of environmentally friendly high‐density polyethylene and turmeric spent composites: Physicomechanical, thermal, and morphological studies

Abstract

AbstractHigh‐density polyethylene (HDPE)/turmeric spent (TS) composites were prepared by the extrusion of an HDPE resin with 5, 10, 15, or 20 wt % TS. HDPE granules and TS master‐batch flakes were compounded on a corotating and intermeshing twin‐screw extruder. The extrudate strands were cut into pellets and injection‐molded to make test specimens. These specimens were tested for physicomechanical properties such as the tensile, flexural, and impact strengths, surface hardness, abrasion resistance, density, and water absorption and thermal characteristics such as the heat distortion temperature (HDT) and melt flow index (MFI). Test results revealed that the incorporation of TS affected the tensile, flexural, and Izod impact strengths of the HDPE/TS composites to some extent, whereas the tensile modulus increased from 606.9 to 752.0 N/mm2 and the HDT increased from 61 to 65°C. Furthermore, the addition of TS yielded only marginal variations in the surface hardness, abrasion resistance, density, water absorption, and MFI values of the composites. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010