Properties of Composite Materials Manufactured with Sugar Cane Bagasse Particles and Recycled Plastic

摘要

This paper reports on the results on a laboratory scale study of manufacturing composite boards using sugar cane bagasse particles and residual high-density polyethylene (HDPE). It focuses primarily on the effect of particle size and board density on the flex-ural and hygroscopic properties of the bagasse-plastic composite. Boards of 350 by 350 by 5 mm were manufactured to study the effect of particle size [fractions A = mesh 20 (6.9%, 1 to 6 mm), mesh 40 (49.7%, 0.5 to 3 mm), mesh 60 (19.6%, 0.25 to 3 mm), mesh 100 (11.3%), and fines (12.5%); fractions B = mesh 20 (56.7%, 1 to 6 mm), mesh 40 (38.3%, 0.5 to 5 mm), mesh 60 (4.3%, 0.25 to 3 mm), mesh 100 (0.4%), and fines (0.3%); fractions C = mesh 20 (71%, 1 to 35 mm), mesh 40 (25.3%, 0.5 to 18 mm), mesh 60 (2.3%, 0.25 to 13 mm), mesh 100 (0.3%), and fines (1%)] and board density (nominally 0.75 g/cm~3, 1.0 g/cm~3, 1.2 g/cm~3) on selected physical and mechanical board properties. Temperature, pressure, pressing time, and fiber/plastic ratio were held con-stant at 170℃, 100 bar, 10 minutes, and 50/50, respectively. The evaluation of board properties followed the respective German standards. The results showed that modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) increase significantly with particle size and density. Particle fractions B and C and density around 1.0 g/cm~3 generated the best MORs (30 N/mm~2) and MOEs (2940 N/mm~2 and 2547 N/mm~2, respectively) of the bagasse-plastic composites boards. The hygroscopic properties tend to improve as particle size and density are increased. The lowest water absorption (10%) and thickness swelling (4%) were obtained from the composite boards manufactured with particle size B at a density of 0.97 g/cm~3.