Development of lignocellulosic-plastic composite from rice husk and polyethylene

Abstract

As the demand for wood and wood-based resources keeps outstripping its regeneration, forests are depleting rapidly. To curtail this, it is imperative to shift towards the use of alternative raw materials such as agricultural residues. This study entails the development of lignocellulosic-plastic composites from Rice Husk (RH) and Recycled Low-Density Polyethylene (RLDPE) binder with the potential of augmenting the wood-based composites. Herein, RH was milled, graded into two particle sizes (2 mm and 4 mm), and mixed with RLDPE at two binder ratios (40 wt% and 50 wt%). The obtained composites were evaluated by density, water absorption (WA), thickness swelling (TSW), tensile strength (TS) and bending properties - modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR). In general, the increase of binder from 40% to 50% resulted in significant improvement of both physical and mechanical properties; while the increment of RH particle size showed slight differences in the properties. Composite with 50% binder content and 4 mm particle size was observed to have the best performance which conforms to the requirements for general-purpose application and door core application.