Activated carbons (AC) were prepared by pyrolysis from oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB), bamboo stem (BS), and coconut shells (CNS) at 800 °C by using potassium hydroxide under nitrogen atmosphere. The influence of temperature and type of agricultural biomass on surface area and morphological properties investigated. Activated carbon produced from BS have a higher specific surface area (1212 m2 g−1) and microporosity percentage than those produced from oil palm EFB, and CNS lies in the range of commercial activated carbons. The morphological analysis of the samples was determined by scanning electron microscopy. The external surfaces are full of cavities and quite irregular as a result of activation. X-ray diffraction analysis showed degree of crystallinity 13.25% in case of AC-BS sample while AC-EFB and AC-CNS showed a crystallinity of 1. 68% and 8.19%, respectively

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This work investigates the effect of carbon black content on the tensile, electrical, and morphological properties of epoxy matrix. Carbon black-filled epoxy composites were obtained by mixing the desired amount of carbon black from bamboo stem (BS-CB), oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB-CB), and coconut shell (CNS-CB) with the epoxy resin. Tensile and electrical properties of carbon black from three different sources (BS-CB, EFB-CB, and CNS-CB) used to fill epoxy composite with 5% filler loading were measured and the results indicated improvement in tensile and electrical properties. The diffraction patterns of X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated nonlinear crystalline amorphous structure of the CB.

Nano-activated carbons obtained from oil palm empty fiber bunch (AC-EFB), bamboo stem (AC-BS), and coconut shells (AC-CNS) were reinforced in epoxy matrix to fabricate epoxy nanocomposites. The dynamic mechanical analysis of epoxy nanocomposites was carried out, and 5% AC-CNS treated with KOH-filled epoxy composites displayed the highest storage modulus of all the activated carbon-filled epoxy composites. The incorporation of a small amount of AC-BS, AC-EFB, and AC-CNS to the epoxy matrix enhanced the damping characteristics of the epoxy nanocomposites. The 5% AC-EFB treated with H3PO4 filled epoxy composites showed the highest glass transition temperature (Tg) in all temperature ranges.

This paper reports an investigation on the prediction of tensile properties of mica-filled epoxy composites. Various mechanical models were used to predict the tensile properties of mica-filled epoxy composites at several mica concentrations (5-30 vol%). The tensile properties of mica-filled epoxy at various mica contents were determined experimentally and modeled using Nielsen, Nicolais-Narkis, Verbeek, Halpin-Tsai, Guth, and Novak models. It was found that the tensile modulus of epoxy increases with increasing mica content, whereas the elongation at break and tensile strength decrease. Predictions, which have been offered by the models on tensile strength, elongation at break, and Young’s modulus, are in good agreement with experimental data over the range of mica contents studied. The Halpin-Tsai model shows best agreement in predicting the Young’s modulus (accuracy > 93 %), and Novak curve fitting shows best prediction for elongation at break (accuracy > 99%) for mica-filled composites. In the case of tensile strength, good agreement with Nicolais-Narkis models (accuracy > 99%) was obtained.