Physicomechanical behavior of agro waste-filled polypropylene composites materials

Abstract

For many applications, polymers are modified by adding reinforcements so that the mechanical behavior becomes optimal. Mixing lignocellulosic waste with polymer composites has gained wide consideration due to their weak price, biodegradability, and availability [1–3].Natural fillers are composed of hydrophilic lignocellulosic materials. These fillers are therefore incompatible with nonpolar polymers and have a low resistance to moisture. This leads to obtaining composites with weak properties. To improve adhesion between the filler and the matrix, it is necessary to modify the surface of these materials by the physical or chemical treatment, to enhance the mechanical properties of the composites [4].This work aims to prepare and characterize new composite materials based on polypropylene (PP) filled with either treated or untreated coffee husk waste (WCHT, WCHUT) collected from cafeteria waste. The effect of chemical treatments on the crystallinity and thermal stability of filler and PP / WCH composites were analyzed. Tensile properties were investigated. The treatment has enhanced the compatibility between PP and WCH, which is confirmed by the improvement of the tensile properties by the introduction of treated filler.