Abstract
In the study, sustainable wood-plastic composites (WPCs) were prepared using recycled expanded polystyrene (EPS) and rice husk biomass. The bio-based material that is coconut coir was used as an additive in the study. The EPS quantity was kept constant at 50 wt%, and the number of bio-based materials varied. In the study, the coconut coir loading was used in the range of 0–5 wt%. The effect of coir on the physico-mechanical properties such as tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, compression strength, hardness and water absorption of the in-house prepared composites was studied. From the results, it is observed that the mechanical properties of the composites increased in presence of coir; and also its loading of up to 3 wt%. Around 52% increase in tensile strength, 83% increase in tensile modulus, 54% increase in flexural strength, 39% increase in compression strength and 21% increase in hardness of the composites is observed with the increase of coir content from 0 to 3 wt%. However, the composite properties have deteriorated with the increase of coir loading beyond 3 wt%. The water absorption values continuously decreased with the increase in coir content but the decrease in water absorption is insignificant.
Published Version
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