Eco composites with synergistic combinations of natural rubber latex and wood flour toughened recycled HDPE

Abstract

The recycling of thermoplastic waste reinforced with agricultural products has gained significant attention owing to its benefits towards the economy and the environment. Natural rubber latex (NRL), abundantly found in South East Asia, and wood flour (WF) were added to recycled high-density polyethylene (reHDPE) forming a three-phase composite with the aim of improving the composite’s mechanical resilience, where WF strengthens the composite. The composition of reHDPE was fixed at 80 wt. % and the two fillers were varied to observe the effects of fillers on the mechanical properties, specifically impact resistance. The addition of only 5 wt.% NRL (WF15 NRL5) raises the impact resistance up to 100 % with respect to the composite with only 20 wt.% wood flour. The composition with 5 wt.% WF and 15 wt.% NRL (WF5 NRL15) exhibited the highest impact resistance of 483 J/m and the best processing conditions due to the dispersion of NRL in the polymer matrix. The flexible properties were improved in the NRL-dominated composition. Additionally, higher NRL content increases the decomposition temperature, thus allowing tunable adjustments to the compositions for practical applications. Processing a three-phase reHDPE/WF/NRL composite showed favorable results towards low-cost products from recycled raw materials.