COMPARISON OF RESISTANCE AND BIODEGRADABILITY PROPERTIES OF WOOD-PLASTIC COMPOSITES FROM WOOD FLOUR/ PHB / HDPE / STARCH

Authors

  • Hoda Norouzpour
  • Amirhooman Hemmasi Full Professor, Department of Wood and Paper Industry Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
  • Mohammad Talaeipour
  • Behzad Bazyar
  • Majid Abdouss

Abstract

In this study, mechanical and biodegradability properties of wood plastic composite were investigated. Beech (fagus orientalis) flour 40 wt% was used as a reinforcing base material, maleic anhydride as a coupling agents and nano clay to improve the properties were added. The polymer studied was polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and the other polymer was high-density polyethylene (HDPE) .Three groups of composites were produced, in two groups each of the polymers alone and in the third group a combination of two types of polymers was used as a matrix. Starch 8 wt% and 12wt% was used as a copolymer. The specimens were mixed using a twin-screw extruder and made with an injection molding machine and subjected to mechanical tests: tensile strength and module, bending strength and module, impact resistance tests and biodegradability tests. In mechanical properties, it was observed that wood plastic composite with PHB base material has lower resistance properties than composites containing HDPE. With the addition of starch, all resistance properties were significantly reduced compared to the control sample without starch in all three groups of composite samples. Starch could not play the role of copolymer well in any of the groups. The third group of samples presented better results in terms of resistance properties than the first group. Modulus and resistances increased compared to the first group. In the biodegradability test, the samples were buried at a height of 25 cm for three months. Weight loss was due to the destruction of wood flour, starch and natural polymers by soil microorganisms. The weight loss trend of the samples was increasing until the end of the second month and then decreasing.

Author Biographies

Hoda Norouzpour

Ph.D student, Department of Wood and Paper Industry Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Mohammad Talaeipour

Associate professor, Department of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Behzad Bazyar

Associate Professor, Department of Wood and Paper Industry Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Majid Abdouss

Department of Chemistry, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

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Published

2022-06-07

Issue

Vol. 54 No. 2 (2022): Wood and Fiber Science

Section

Research Contributions

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