Abstract
The present work aims at determining the potential of date palm wastes to be applied as reinforcement in polypropylene. For this, fibers were separated from the raw biomass via mechanical defibration in Sprout Waldron equipment. Then, three different treatment strategies were adopted on the fibers, being (i) mechanical, (ii) chemical with NaOH, and (iii) enzymatical with xylanases and pectinases. Fibers were characterized in terms of chemical composition, morphology and SEM. Additionally, PP was reinforced with date palm fibers and the composites’ stiffness was evaluated. The analysis was performed from a macro and micro mechanical viewpoint. The incorporation of 40 and 60 wt.% of DPF-E enhanced the Young’s modulus of PP by 205 and 308%, respectively. The potential of enzymatically treated fibers to replace glass fibers in composites was studied, exhibiting similar stiffening abilities at 60 wt.% of date palm fiber (6.48 GPa) and 40% of glass fibers (6.85 GPa). The intrinsic Young’s modulus of the fibers was set at values around 16, 20 and 24 GPa for mechanical, chemical and enzymatic fibers. From the micromechanical analysis, the efficiency of the reinforcement as well as the contribution of the length and orientation to the Young’s modulus of the composite was evaluated.
Highlights
Polymeric materials have replaced many conventional materials for various applications, mainly due to their ease of manufacture, lower weight, and lower processing costs [1]
Synthetic fibers have been extensively studied and found to provide significant enhancement in terms of mechanical properties. Such reinforcements are known to be abrasive for the processing equipment and even harmful for the human being [4]
The use of natural fibers has recently attracted attention both at research and manufacturing level, mainly due to their lower cost, lower specific weight and sustainable character compared to the abovementioned synthetic fibers, while providing reasonable mechanical enhancement [1,5,6]
Summary
Polymeric materials have replaced many conventional materials for various applications, mainly due to their ease of manufacture, lower weight, and lower processing costs [1]. Synthetic fibers (namely carbon, aramid or glass fibers) have been extensively studied and found to provide significant enhancement in terms of mechanical properties Such reinforcements are known to be abrasive for the processing equipment and even harmful for the human being [4]. The use of natural fibers has recently attracted attention both at research and manufacturing level, mainly due to their lower cost, lower specific weight and sustainable character compared to the abovementioned synthetic fibers, while providing reasonable mechanical enhancement [1,5,6]. A certain drawback of natural fiber composites is the Polymers 2020, 12, 1693; doi:10.3390/polym12081693 www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers
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