Investigation Mechanical Properties of Polypropylene Composite with Difference Composition of Nucleating Agent Based Sorghum Fiber

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the mechanical effects of polypropylene using sorghum fiber as nucleating agent. Alkalization, bleaching, and acid hydrolysis are all used to chemically modify sorghum fiber. This modified sorghum fiber was then mixed with polypropylene as a polymer matrix for 10 minutes in a rheomix at 100 rpm at 165°C and molded in a hot press. The results of this study suggest that acid hydrolysis can improve the crystallinity and compatibility of sorghum fiber. Furthermore, at 23.44 MPa, the optimum mechanical characteristics of a mixture of polypropylene and micro fibrillated cellulose (MFC) from sorghum fiber were achieved from 0.5% MFC resulting from acid hydrolysis.