Processing and properties of high density polyethylene/date palm fiber composites prepared by a laboratory mixing extruder

The trend of using natural fibers as green filler in the fabrication of polymer composites is increasing. One of these natural fibers is date palm fiber (DPF). Date palm fiber is considered as agricultural waste in certain areas, such as Middle East countries. Therefore, the utilization of this fiber in the composites fabrication is an interesting topic of research. In the current study, composites were prepared by melt blending DPF with high density polyethylene (HDPE). Five different DPF loadings were studied (i.e. 0, 5, 10, 20, 30 wt%). The effect of the DPF loadings on the mechanical properties and water absorption behavior of the composites were investigated. The tensile test result showed that tensile strengths of all the composites samples were all higher than the neat HDPE with the maximum improvement was achieved at the DPF loading of 5 wt% (i.e. DFC-5), which was about 19.23 MPa (138% higher than the neat HDPE). Whereas, the flexural test result showed that the flexural strength of the composites slightly increased compared to that of the neat HDPE only until 5 wt% DPF loading (i.e. DFC-5). Afterward, the flexural strength of the DFC-10 was equal to that of the neat HDPE, and decreasing with further increase of DPF loadings. Additionally, the water absorption test result showed that the water absorption rate and uptake of water (at equilibrium) increased with the increase of DPF loading.

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Date Palm Fiber Reinforced High Density Polyethylene Composites: Effect of Fiber Loadings on the Melt Rheological Behavior

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.773.40 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 773 ◽

pp. 40-45 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Achmad Chafidz ◽

Venitalitya Augustia ◽

Ariany Zulkania ◽

Asmanto Subagyo ◽

Mujtahid Kaavessina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rheological Behavior ◽

High Density Polyethylene ◽

Date Palm ◽

Loss Modulus ◽

Natural Fibers ◽

Complex Viscosity ◽

High Density ◽

Plant Fibers ◽

Palm Fiber ◽

Rheological Test

In the recent years, the trend of using renewable source (green) fillers in the composites fabrication is increasing. One of these green fillers is natural fibers, which referred to the plant fibers, such as date palm fiber (DPF). In the present work, high-density polyethylene (HDPE)/DPF composites have been prepared. Four different DPF loadings were used (i.e. 0, 5, 10, 20 wt%) to prepare the composites. The effect of DPF loadings on the melt rheological behavior of the HDPE/DPF composites were studied. The melt rheological test results showed that both of storage modulus (Gʹ) and loss modulus (Gʺ) increased with the increase of DPF loadings. Additionally, the Han plot showed an upward shift from neat HDPE (i.e. DFC-0) to DFC-20, which indicated that the melt rheological properties changed with the increase of DPF loadings. The complex viscosity |h*| of the composites samples also increased with the increase of DPF loadings. The increased was more significant at higher DPF loadings (i.e. DFC-20). Meanwhile, the Carreau-Yasuda model was found to be well fitted with the experimental data.

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High Density Polyethylene/Date Palm Fiber Composites: Effect of Fiber Loadings on the Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Properties

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.777.22 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 777 ◽

pp. 22-26

Author(s):

Achmad Chafidz ◽

R.M. Faisal ◽

Lilis Kistriyani ◽

Ajeng Y.D. Lestari ◽

Dhoni Hartanto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Experimental Data ◽

Thermal Properties ◽

Storage Modulus ◽

High Density Polyethylene ◽

Date Palm ◽

High Density ◽

Plant Fibers ◽

Palm Fiber ◽

Dynamic Mechanical ◽

Logarithmic Equation

The increasing environmental issues has resulted in the trend of the use of renewable or natural source (green) fillers in the polymer composites fabrication. Among these green fillers is called natural fibers or plant fibers. One particular plant fibers that became the topic of the present work is date palm fiber (DPF). In the present work, DPF at different loadings (i.e. 0, 5, 10, 20, 30 wt%) were incorporated (as fillers) in the high density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix to fabricate HDPE/DPF composites. Further, we have investigated the effect of DPF loadings on the dynamic mechanical thermal properties of the composites. The dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) results exhibited that the storage modulus of the composites increased with increasing DPF loadings. Additionally, all the storage modulus values of the composites were higher than the neat HDPE in all temperature ranges. For example, at temperature of 60°C, the storage modulus enhancement of the composites as compared to the neat HDPE were about 26, 76, 134, and 225% for 5, 10, 20, 30 wt% of DPF loadings, respectively. Additionally, the relationship between the DPF loadings (wt%) and temperature (°C) on the storage modulus of the HDPE/DPF composites was modeled using a logarithmic equation. Based on the data plotting between the experimental data and modeled data, the logarithmic equation was found to be fitted with the experimental data satisfactory.

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