Thermal and mechanical properties of injection moulded heat-treated oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre-reinforced high-density polyethylene composites

Abstract

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) was heat treated at 180°C using a vacuum oven for one hour, extruded and compounded with high-density polyethylene at 10%, 20% and 30% weight fraction. The composites then were injection moulded into dumb-bell shaped specimens. The effect of composition and heat treatment on the thermal properties of composites were investigated using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The tensile and flexural properties were also tested using an Instron Universal Testing Machine. TGA shows an increase in the degradation peak temperature of the heat-treated composites. DSC revealed an increasing trend in the degree of crystallinity (X c ) of the matrix as the heat-treated empty fruit bunch was used as a filler. An increment in the tensile modulus and tensile strain were observed for the treated fibre composites. In addition, the tensile strength value was increased for treated fibre composites with lower fibre loading.

Water Absorption Behavior of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) and Oil Palm Kernel Shell (OPKS) as Fillers in Acrylic Thermoplastic Composites

“…The thermograms showed four stages of weight loss that occurred around the following temperature ranges: 70–150 °C, 250–350 °C, 350–410 °C, and 410–600 °C, with temperatures around 280 and 400 °C being the temperatures at which the highest rate of mass loss occurred for the composites. The first stage presented the lowest weight losses (0.66–3.22% and 2.47–4.13% for the OPEFB and OPKS composites, respectively), which was attributed to water evaporation (intra-/intermolecular dehydration reactions) [ 9 , 26 ]. The second stage corresponded to hemicellulose degradation, obtaining losses between 14.52–26.43% (before the test) and 9.91–13.29% (after the test) for OPEFB and 10.29–23.89% (before the test) and 10.19–22.79% (after the test) for OPKS [ 9 , 31 ].…”

“…The first stage presented the lowest weight losses (0.66–3.22% and 2.47–4.13% for the OPEFB and OPKS composites, respectively), which was attributed to water evaporation (intra-/intermolecular dehydration reactions) [ 9 , 26 ]. The second stage corresponded to hemicellulose degradation, obtaining losses between 14.52–26.43% (before the test) and 9.91–13.29% (after the test) for OPEFB and 10.29–23.89% (before the test) and 10.19–22.79% (after the test) for OPKS [ 9 , 31 ]. The difference in weight losses, before and after the water absorption test, in the OPEFB/acrylic composites was produced because the soluble fraction of hemicellulose could be solubilized in water during the absorption process.…”

“…The third transition stage, with losses between 39.88 and 62.04% for the OPEFB/acrylic and 46.27 and 63.13% for the OPKS/acrylic composites, was the main phase of thermal degradation for the composites, which was associated with the decomposition (carbonization and byproduct volatilization) of cellulose [ 9 ]. In this case, the differences in weight losses were generated by the different crystallinity indices of cellulose [ 9 , 24 ]. The final stage was characterized by slow weight losses associated with lignin degradation [ 9 , 31 ].…”

“…In this case, the differences in weight losses were generated by the different crystallinity indices of cellulose [ 9 , 24 ]. The final stage was characterized by slow weight losses associated with lignin degradation [ 9 , 31 ]. The OPEFB/acrylic composites after the absorption process had considerable losses (24.37–37.89%), while the OPEFB/acrylic composites before the absorption process and the OPKS/acrylic composites before and after the absorption process showed lower losses (5.60–14.54%).…”

“…Oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis Jacq. ) is the most widely produced edible oil crop in the world, and it can be found in 42 countries with approximately 11 million ha [ 1 ]; nevertheless, its plantation is generating abundant lignocellulosic wastes such as empty fruit bunch and kernel shell [ 9 ]. Ecuador, as the world’s ninth largest exporter of oil palm, generates around 7 million tons of waste/year [ 10 ].…”