Filler-content determination of wood-based composites by thermogravimetric analysis

Abstract

Oil-palm wood flour (OPWF), a new type of wood-based filler for polypropylene has been investigated. One important characterisation of the OPWF composites involves the checking for the actual filler content and filler distribution within the matrix. Being an organic by-product, the OPWF filler degrades before the polypropylene matrix when subjected to high temperature. An analytical technique is described here for computation of the OPWF content in the composites based on a simple expression, p f = Ψ( m d/ m c) derived from thermogravimetric analyses. The technique has shown good agreement and consistency between determined and actual filler contents. The composites were also found to have a uniform filler distribution by the same technique.