Effect of carbonized wood fiber loading on properties of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers

Abstract

In this research, wood fiber waste type B was carbonized in stand steel tabulate and the whole system was kept in the furnace to undergo combustion process for 3 h at a temperature of 700 °C. The new promising filler is carbonized wood fiber (CWF). It was characterized using SEM–EDX to measure elemental composition. Based on the carbon content in CWF filler, it was proceeded in the melt-blending technique within EVA (semi-crystalline) using a Brabender plasticorder. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of CWF loading on physical, mechanical, thermal and electrical performances of EVA composites. The statistical analysis indicates that there was no significant difference between theoretical and measured density, proven by p value of 0.2564. The void content increased dramatically up to 2% and remains a valid value for composite production. The mechanical properties dropped gradually with increasing CWF filler within EVA composites and similarly by mass swell percentages. The enhancement of conductivity in these composites was due to the attraction of CWF to EVA, promoting formation of conductive networks. The percolation threshold of CWF in the EVA matrix was determined at 10 phr of CWF loading. Thermal stability of composites increased with the increasing of CWF filler. Lastly, crystal orientation ratio and d-spacing reduced with the addition of CWF filler in EVA/CWF composites.