The Effect of Modification Methods on the Performance Characteristics of Composites Based on a Linear Low-Density Polyethylene and Natural Hemp Fibers

Abstract

Influence of the content of hemp fibers (harvested in 2012) and their modification methods (treatment with boiling water, sodium hydroxide, and acetic anhydride) and addition of an interfacial modifier, maleated polyethylene (MAPE), on the performance characteristics (tensile strength, modulus, elongation at break, microhardness, and water resistance) of composites based on a linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) was investigated. The results obtained are compared with data found earlier for the same type of hemp fibers, but harvested in 2011. It is shown that optimum content of untreated hemp fibers in the LLDPE matrix is 30 wt.% and optimum length of the fibers is less than 1 mm. An increase in the content of hemp fibers (to 30 wt.%) raised the tensile strength and modulus of the composites, but reduced their elasticity and deformation ability. Simultaneously, the microhardness of the composite materials grew. Pretreating the fibers with sodium hydroxide improved the mechanical properties of the composites only slightly, but treating with acetic anhydride allowed us to elevate the content of the fibers up to 40 and 50 wt.%. The best results were achieved by addition of 50 wt.% MAPE, when the tensile modulus increased by about 47% and the tensile strength by 27% as compared with those of composites with fibers pretreated by other methods. To estimate the processing possibilities of the composites, the melt flow index (MFI) was determined. It is established that the pretreatment of the fibers significantly affects the numerical values of MFI. For example, upon treatment with acetic anhydride, a sufficiently high fluidity of the composites was retained even at a 50 wt.% content of fibers. The lowest fluidity was observed for composites with alkali-pretreated hemp fibers. The surface microhardness decreased upon their chemical pretreatment. The highest microhardness showed composites with 30 wt.% untreated fibers. The chemical pretreatment considerably raised the water resistance of the composites. Especially low water absorption was observed for composites containing MAPE and hemp fibers pretreated with acetic anhydride.