Enhancement of Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephtalate) Biocomposites by Matrix Esterification Using Succinic Anhydride

Abstract

In this work, the oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fiber was used as a source of lignocellulosic filler to fabricate a novel type of cost effective biodegradable composite, based on the aliphatic aromatic co-polyester poly(butylene adipate-co-terephtalate) PBAT (EcoflexTM), as a fully biodegradable thermoplastic polymer matrix. The aim of this research was to improve the new biocomposites’ performance by chemical modification using succinic anhydride (SAH) as a coupling agent in the presence and absence of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiators. For the composite preparation, several blends were prepared with varying ratios of filler and matrix using the melt blending technique. The composites were prepared at various fiber contents of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 (wt %) and characterized. The effects of fiber loading and coupling agent loading on the thermal properties of biodegradable polymer composites were evaluated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used for morphological studies. The chemical structure of the new biocomposites was also analyzed using the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy technique. The PBAT biocomposite reinforced with 40 (wt %) of EFB fiber showed the best mechanical properties compared to the other PBAT/EFB fiber biocomposites. Biocomposite treatment with 4 (wt %) succinic anhydride (SAH) and 1 (wt %) dicumyl peroxide (DCP) improved both tensile and flexural strength as well as tensile and flexural modulus. The FTIR analyses proved the mechanical test results by presenting the evidence of successful esterification using SAH/DCP in the biocomposites’ spectra. The SEM micrograph of the tensile fractured surfaces showed the improvement of fiber-matrix adhesion after using SAH. The TGA results showed that chemical modification using SAH/DCP improved the thermal stability of the PBAT/EFB biocomposite.

Preparation and Characterization of Poly(lactic Acid)-based Composite Reinforced with Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber and Nanosilica

“…However, characteristic peaks for PLA were observed at the 2800 cm -1 to 3000 cm -1 region (Wu and Liao 2008). The spectrum of OPEFB was similar to that in the work of Siyamak et al (2012), where main peaks are located almost at the same wavenumbers (3340, 2900, 1729, and 1604 cm -1 ). These peaks corresponded to the OH bending of cellulose, the C-H stretching in aromatic methoxyl groups of cellulose, and hemicellulose, C=O stretching of either acetyl or uronic ester groups of hemicelluloses, and C=C aromatic skeletal vibrations of lignin, respectively .…”

“…2. Both peaks at 1210 and 1293 cm -1 were attributed to the OH bending vibrations of cellulose (Siyamak et al 2012). The peak at 1755 cm -1 was attributed to the stretching of C=O of lignin Ching et al 2015).…”

“…Fiber-fiber interactions increase with increasing fiber content. This interaction, therefore, led to the formation of voids, which can be sites of crack propagation in the composite, resulting in a decay in tensile strength (Kang and Kim 2011;Siyamak et al 2012). In the case of PLA reinforced with organic silica and inorganic silica, increasing the fiber loading enhanced the tensile strength of the composites.…”

Properties of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch-Filled Recycled Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Composites: Effect of Shapes and Filler Loadings with Random Orientation

“…3. Several studies were conducted to observe the FTIR spectra of OPEFB-filled matrix polymers (Rozman et al 2003;Siyamak et al 2012). In the present study, spectral bands between 650 and 1000 cm -1 were related to the =C-H or -NH group.…”

Characterization of poly(lactic acid) biocomposites filled with chestnut shell waste

“…Packaging industry appears as a branch which due to relatively low expectations towards mechanical properties allows for wide application of fully biodegradable polymers on a bigger scale [5]. The low thermo-mechanical stability of green composites, next to relatively high price, became their biggest disadvantage in comparison to petroleum-based non-biodegradable polymers [5,13]. Therefore, it is well founded to use recycled thermoplastic biodegradable polymers as a matrix for composites filled with organic and inorganic fillers [7,11].…”