Study of Agave Fiber-Reinforced Biocomposite Films

Abstract

Thermoplastic resins (linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and polypropylene (PP)) reinforced by different content ratios of raw agave fibers were prepared and characterized in terms of their mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties as well as their morphology. The morphological properties of agave fibers and films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and the variations in chemical interactions between the filler and matrix materials were studied using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. No significant chemical interaction between the filler and matrix was observed. Melting point and crystallinity of the composites were evaluated for the effect of agave fiber on thermal properties of the composites, and modulus and yield strength parameters were inspected for mechanical analysis. While addition of natural fillers did not affect the overall thermal properties of the composite materials, elastic modulus and yielding stress exhibited direct correlation to the filler content and increased as the fiber content was increased. The highest elastic moduli were achieved with 20 wt % agave fiber for all the three composites. The values were increased by 319.3%, 69.2%, and 57.2%, for LLDPE, HDPE, and PP, respectively. The optimum yield stresses were achieved with 20 wt % fiber for LLDPE increasing by 84.2% and with 30 wt % for both HDPE and PP, increasing by 52% and 12.3% respectively.

Solid-State Compounding for Recycling of Sawdust Waste into Green Packaging Composites

“…Similar results were seen for the extruded ones; however, SD particles were still evident in the sheets (Figure 7b). Similar images were presented by Annandarajah et al for agave fiber (5,10,20, and 30 wt.%) reinforced polypropylene, linear low density, and high density polyethylene composite films prepared via extrusion [43]. It is also worth mentioning that some samples suffered dewetting and melt flow marks.…”

Effect of surface modification and fiber content on the mechanical performance of compression molded polyethylene‐maple composites

“…This trend is directly related to observations related to the poor interfacial adhesion (Figures 3‐5) where some voids and poor contact at the fiber‐matrix interface can be seen. [ 52,53 ] Therefore, the stress is not well distributed in the composite as reported by Siregar et al [ 13 ] On the other hand, the tensile strength was improved by applying a fiber surface treatment (especially for T and TM). The presence of MAPE on the fiber interface improves the stress transfer.…”

Morphological and Mechanical Properties of Bilayers Wood-Plastic Composites and Foams Obtained by Rotational Molding

“…The thickness of each layer was found to increase with both AF (more void and defects) and ACA (because foam) content, leading to a 55% density reduction (0.93 g/cm 3 ) compared with that of the neat matrix (0.44 g/cm 3 ). The poor interfacial adhesion between fiber and matrix is due to their incompatibility and the voids that reduce the mechanical properties.…”

“…The matrix used was linear medium density polyethylene (LMDPE) RO 93650 from Polímeros Nacionales (Tlaquepaque, Mexico) with a density of 0.936 g/cm 3 and a melt flow index of 5 g/10 min (2.16 kg/190 • C). Agave fibers (AF) (Agave tequilana Weber var.…”

“…In 2017 it was estimated that the annual production of potentially harmful plastics waste exceeds 150 million tons worldwide, which directly or indirectly affects the health of most living beings as well as the natural balance of ecosystems [2]. Due to the environmental concerns caused by the accumulation of plastics wastes, academic, industrial and government sectors are developing strategies to increase the sustainability of the plastic industry including the reduction of plastics in single-use applications, recycling and the production of more sustainable materials such as composites based on biobased fillers (flax, hemp, pine, coir or agave fibers) [3][4][5].…”