Lignocellulose–polymer composite. III

Abstract

AbstractA linear relationship was achieved between the polymer load and the monomer concentration up to 200% when china clay or talc replaced the glass in the initiating system, sodium bisulfite–soda lime glass, for the free‐radical graft polymerization reactions using semichemical pulp of bagasse as substrate. The results showed that china clay is better than talc, which may be contributed to the difference in their network structure. The properties of the composites prepared from the cografted semichemical pulp–polymethyl methacrylate revealed that the china clay leads to composites with high compression strength and hardness. Deformation percent increased with increasing polymer load. However, decreasing or increasing the polymer load affects the properties of the composites up to a limit, where there is a maximum or minimum for both compression strength and hardness at china clay ratio of 2 or 3. Composites were also prepared from poly(methyl methacrylate)‐cografted‐pith of bagasse using the initiating system sodium bisulfite in the absence or presence of soda lime glass. Compression strength, deformation percent, and hardness increased on decreasing the glass ratio from 1 to 0, at nearly the same polymer load. The presence of waxes and resins decreased the compression strength of the composites prepared by impregnation of the lignocellulose in polymer solution. The hardness of these composites increased on removing waxes and resins. Removal of part of hemicellulose by alkali treatment of the lignocellulose has increased the effect on hardness. Alkali treatments of the substrates lead to a high deformation percentage. The compression strength of alkali‐treated lignocellulose are lower than the untreated ones. The change of compression strength to deformation percent and the compressibility due to complete removal of waxes and resins by the extraction with methanol–benzene or partial removal of the waxes, resins, and hemicellulose through alkali treatment followed the change of both the compression strength and percent of deformation. Water uptake of the composites prepared in this work was ranged between 6.8 and 7%. After 48 h the water uptake increased to the range 8.5–14.1%. Impregnation of the composites in water for 72 h increased the water uptake to the range 10.2–18.1%. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.