Agrowaste biocomposites were obtained using peanut husk filler and LDPE. The effects of agrofiller content and compatibilizer on the mechanical and biodegradable properties of the composites have been discussed. Mechanical and biodegradable behaviour of LDPE became noticeably worse when it was blended with agrofiller, due to poor compatibility between the two phases. The presence of MAPE in the composites and its compatibility with the agrofiller, led to much better dispersion and homogeneity of agrofiller in the matrix and consequently to improved properties. Water absorption and thickness swelling indices increased with increasing filler content and were reduced on addition of MAPE. Furthermore, weight loss of composites via enzymatic degradation showed that both composites were biodegradable even at high levels of filler addition. However, composites with MAPE exhibited lower weight loss.

The sorption and diffusion of toluene through blends of natural rubber (NR) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) of varying compositions were studied at 35, 55, and65°Cby conventional weight-gain experiments. The effects of blend ratio on the diffusion, sorption, and permeation coefficients were determined. The sorption data were used to estimate the activation energies of diffusion and permeation, parameters which were found to show a decrease when the amount of NR or LLDPE was increased. The transport of toluene through most of the blends was anomalous, althouh at35°C, the transport of toluene through the 60/40 blend was Fickian and at35°C, pseudo-Fickian. The enthalpy of sorption of toluene obtained is positive and suggests a Henry's type sorption.

<abstract> <p>The world is today faced with the problem of plastic waste pollution more than ever before. Global plastic production continues to accelerate, despite the fact that recycling rates are comparatively low, with only about 15% of the 400 million tonnes of plastic currently produced annually being recycled. Although recycling rates have been steadily growing over the last 30 years, the rate of global plastic production far outweighs this, meaning that more and more plastic is ending up in dump sites, landfills and finally into the environment, where it damages the ecosystem. Better end-of-life options for plastic waste are needed to help support current recycling efforts and turn the tide on plastic waste. A promising emerging technology is plastic pyrolysis; a chemical process that breaks plastics down into their raw materials. Key products are liquid resembling crude oil, which can be burned as fuel and other feedstock which can be used for so many new chemical processes, enabling a closed-loop process. The experimental results on the pyrolysis of thermoplastic polymers are discussed in this review with emphasis on single and mixed waste plastics pyrolysis liquid fuel.</p> </abstract>

Polypropylene (PP)/plasticized cassava starch (PCS) blended with and without compatibilizer (polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA)) via melt blending were prepared for soil burial which lasted for 90 days. Plasticized starch loadings of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 wt.% were used, while pp-g-ma was used at 10 wt.% based on starch weight. The PP/PCS and PP/PCS/PP-G-MA blends were evaluated for their tensile properties. It was observed that the tensile strength, elongation at break, and young’s modulus decreased with increases in soil burial time as well as starch content for PP/PCS blends. Similar treads for the tensile properties were observed for PP/PCS/PP-g-MA, but with higher properties as compared to uncompatibilized blends. However, the tensile properties for both PP/PCS and PP/PCS/PP-g-Ma decrease with increases in starch loading and also as the burial period progressed.

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