Abstract
Polypropylene composites reinforcing with natural fiber is potentially applied for automotive particularly on interior part design. Those kind of composites were contributed on renewable material, rapid rate biodegradation, and low cost of production compared to synthetic fiber. Furthermore, the mechanical properties including strenghtness, young modulus, and thermal stability have revealed good performance than glass fiber. Fiber which were fibrillated and have high aspect ratio that coresspond to diameter and lenght ratio of the fiber were noticed as enhancement factor for mechanical properties. Fiber fibrillation processing into microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) attempts for widening surface area of the fiber that improve polymer matrices compatibility. MFC from empty fruit bunches (EFB) and oil palm frond (FB) fibers were performed as pulp by mechanically and chemically treatments. Chemically treatment was conducted with bleach and unbleach procedure. Polypropylene with fiber was mixed using kneader, and injection for molding process. Manufacturing uses needs appropriate size presition, moderate lead time, and low defect. Heat deflection temperature (HDT) provide information for plastic material on indicating temperature condition effect to material deformation during normal loading. Material of origin, additive or filler size, and molding temperature were directly corelated to the HDT performance. Initial temperature of HDT exhibits different value for different kind of fillers and fiber treatments. PP/EFB composite by mechanical treatment gives high value of HDT compared to the fiber processing by chemical treatment both with bleach and unbleach process. Similar result have been performed in PP/FB composites related to initial temperature. PP/ EFB composite with 30% of fiber loading represent HDT in 149.4°C, and for PP/ FB composite with 30% fiber loading gives 150.7°C. By the addition of fiber loading could improve the HDT value of the composites.
Highlights
Over the demand of sustainable and renewable material in several field such as automotive, medical, and food packaging, natural based material widely investigated in last decade
This research were aimed to investigate the Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT) value from PP composites reinforced with empty fruit bunch and palm frond fibers
While cellulose content for empty fruit bunches (EFB) fibers is known in 41.72%, and other content such hemicellulose in 24.26%, lignin 22.49%, and extractive 11.54% (Anita et al 2011)
Summary
Over the demand of sustainable and renewable material in several field such as automotive, medical, and food packaging, natural based material widely investigated in last decade. Natural fiber utillization for reinforcement material in polymer matrices especially in automotive part besides reduce the synthetic and metal material consumption that costly high and could reduce total weight of cars which about 30% (Subyakto et al 2009). By the natural fiber addition could overcome for green house effect since as an organic material, natural fiber could assist on carbon dioxide cycle (Hari 2012). In automotive manufacture remain use synthetic fiber and metal as main material. The advantages of natural fiber related to renewable, biodegradable, good properties, low cost production (i.e. synthetic fiber), low density, non abrasive, relatively active surface, low carbon dioxide emission, and most of all as a green movement material (Zimmermann et al 2004; Bhatnagar et al 2005; Kamel 2007; Ashori 2008). The properties related such as mechanical, chemical, and thermal are disconnected for each molding process (Liu et al 2007)
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