Background/Objectives: The minimization of unnecessary components from agro-waste is essential for performance and conversion into useful products in domestic and industrial utilization. The need for removal of these unwanted components is important to boost the strength of the agro-waste for its effectiveness as additive in agro-based polymer composite production as new engineering material for structural purpose. This investigation entailed the influence of NaOH concentration and soaking time on the key compositional content of novel mango seed shell fiber (MSSF). Methods/findings: The MSSF was treated with NaOH solution at 2.5, 5, 7.5 wt % concentration and soaking time of 2-6 hr. The compositions of MSSF were obtained for the treated and untreated sample by gravimetric method. The pure and NaOH treated MSSF were analyzed instrumentally employing Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer to show the functionality of some substances present. From this result, the optimum composition of MSSF was observed at 5 % NaOH concentration and 4 hr soaking time. The maximum composition at this condition improved than the crude MSSF by 71.33% cellulose content, while the hemicelluloses and lignin content removal was lower than the raw fiber by 91.75 and 98.84%, respectively. Application: The results at this optimum treatment of MSSF composition can be recommended for agro-based polymer composite in indoor application.

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This paper was based on the application of novel breadfruit peel fiber (BFPF), a cheap agro-waste as reinforcer in low-density polyethylene matrix (LDPE) to produce breadfruit peel fiber-low-density-polyethylene composite (BFPF-LDPE) for industrial production. To achieve this, the influence of BFPF weight at different treatment routes on the mechanical properties and water absorption resistance of LDPE was examined. The BFPF was modified with sodium hydroxide (MS), sodium hydroxide/acetic acid (AM) and sodium hydroxide/acetic acid/maleated polyethylene (MM). The results showed that the treatment of BFPF with sodium hydroxide/acetic acid/maleated polyethylene gave better properties than composites produced with either sodium hydroxide or combination of sodium hydroxide/ acetic acid treatment, while untreated (UM) composite provided the poorest. This is a result of anhydride radical in MM which is absent in AM and MS. However, the tensile and impact strength for the crude LDPE indicated higher values than UM, MS, AM and MM of BFPF-LDPE composite, respectively. Furthermore, the tensile modulus, flexural strength and hardness of BFPF-LDPE composite after inclusion of UM, MS, AM and MM showed immense improvement as compared to the raw LDPE. The modified BFPF enhanced sorption resistance of the BFPF-LDPE composite. Therefore, the BFPF-LDPE composite of MM can be applied as an alternative material for the replacement of particle board in construction and automobile parts.

The characteristics of wood filler-thermoplastics composites coupled with the incessant order of these products on a daily basis have long been of scholarly interest. This work is aimed at investigating the influence of chemical-modified avocado pear wood filler (APWF) on the mechanical and water absorption behavior of low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The avocado pear wood filler-low density polyethylene (APWF/LDPE) composites were prepared by fresh APWF (UN) modified by the action of sodium hydroxide (NS), sodium hydroxide/acetic acid (AA) and sodium hydroxide/acetic acid/maleate polyethylene (MP), respectively and then merged with a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) matrix by injection molding, respectively. The effect of the filler content on the properties was evaluated. The active groups and morphology of APWF/LDPE composites were studied using a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer and a scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The treated APWF exhibited better mechanical properties and higher water resistance than the UN with a greater improvement for the MP of the APWF/LDPE composite as captured by a FTIR and SEM graph. Consequently, the MP of an APWF/LDPE composite is highly recommended as an application for furniture and finishings.

In this study, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), elongation (ELG) and tensile modulus (TEM) of a recycled low-density polyethylene groundnut shell fiber composite (r-LDPE/GSF) were modeled and simulated when considered particle size (PS) and fiber content (FC) of groundnut shell fiber (GSF) by applying response surface techniques (RSM) for structural application. The deposit of recycled low-density polyethylene (r-LDPE) and GSF, an agro-waste, were combined in the production of r-LDPE/GSF composite at PS of 50–70 mesh (300–212 µm) and FC of 10–30 wt% of the GSF. The manufactured r-LDPE/GSF composite was tested for UTS, ELG and TEM and optimized by considering these process variables of GSF, PS and FC with RSM. The outcome indicated that at optimum condition, the UTS, ELG and TEM were 8.5072 MPa, 12.83% and 0.94007 GPa, respectively. The parameters at this point were PS and FC of 60.48 mesh (250 µm) and 30 wt%, respectively. The coefficient of determination (R 2) was close to 0.99. The percentage of relative errors between raw experimental reading and the RSM was <0.16. Based on the result of the work, the predicted RSM data on tensile properties of r-LDPE/GSF composite shows that is a potential engineering material for structural application.

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