Abstract
This paper studies the mechanical properties of bio-epoxy resins blended with synthetic epoxy resins (epoxamite). The bio-epoxy resins were derived from Jatropha methyl esters through epoxidation method. They were formulated with epoxamite and hardener at different compositions and then cured at different temperature and time settings. The cured blends were subjected to tensile and flexural tests using Instron machine. Tensile and flexural strength of the mixtures were compared with the 100% epoxamite in order to evaluate the suitability of bio-epoxy resins as an alternative to synthetic epoxy resins with respect to mechanical properties. Tensile strength of 100% epoxamite is 38.32 MPa and flexural strength is 63.32 MPa. The mixtures of bio-resins and epoxamite demonstrated very low mechanical strengths compared to the 100% epoxamite. Therefore, they are not suitable to be used as an alternative to synthetic epoxy resins in industrial applications. However, they may find other usage due to high reactivity of the bio-epoxy resins.
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