Wood fiber-reinforced recycled plastic composites (WRPCs) manufactured from sawdust and post-consumer high density polyethylene (HDPE) were studied in this article. The thermal, flexural properties and impact strength of the manufactured WRPCs were determined according to the relevant standard specifications. Effects of mix ratio, wood fiber length, type, and content of coupling agent on the mechanical properties of WRPCs were investigated. The fracture surfaces of WRPCs after impact test were examined and the fracture mechanism of WRPCs due to impact was also analyzed in this article. The results indicated that incorporation of wood fibers resulted in higher melting and slower crystallization rate of WRPCs. A linear relationship between cooling rate and crystallization rate was observed. With the increasing of the wood fiber weight fraction, the flexural strength of WRPCs increases. The longer the wood fiber length, the less the flexural strength of WRPCs under the conditions of this study. The Charpy impact strength decreases with the increasing of wood fibers content in WRPCs. It appears that the optimum compatibilizer content for wood and recycled HDPE mixing is 5% in weight fraction.
Jute-fibers-reinforced thermoplastic composites are widely used in the automobile, packaging, and electronic industries because of their various advantages such as low cost, ease of recycling, and biodegradability. However, the applications of these kinds of composites are limited because of their unsatisfactory mechanical properties, which are caused by the poor interfacial compatibility between jute fibers and the thermoplastic matrix. In this work, four methods, including (i) alkali treatment, (ii) alkali and silane treatment, (iii) alkali and (maleic anhydride)-polypropylene (MAPP) treatment, and (iv) alkali, silane, and MAPP treatment (ASMT) were used to treat jute fibers and improve the interfacial adhesion of jute-fiber-reinforced recycled polypropylene composites (JRPCS). The mechanical properties and impact fracture surfaces of the composites were observed, and their fracture mechanism was analyzed. The results showed that ASMT composites possessed the optimum comprehensive mechanical properties. When the weight fraction of jute fibers was 15%, the tensile strength and impact toughness were increased by 46 and 36%, respectively, compared to those of untreated composites. The strongest interfacial adhesion between jute fibers and recycled polypropylene was obtained for ASMT composites. The fracture styles of this kind of composite included fiber breakage, fiber pull-out, and interfacial debonding.
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