Weathering of natural fibers reinforced composites: study of the impact on Volatile Organic Compounds' emissions in indoor air

摘要

Biocomposites (BCs) are recently envisaged to be used in interior parts of vehicles. However, their Volatile Organic Compounds' (VOCs) emissions are little known and the impact of material ageing is also poorly documented. So, hemp fibers reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites (0 wt% (PP) and 30 wt% of fibers (PP30)) were weathered under windshield glass during one year. This paper reports results obtained after 3 months of weathering. The emissions were determined by measuring the surface concentration of VOCs using a home-made sampling cell (DOSEC) coupled with Solid Phase MicroExtraction (SPME). No significant differences have been noted for PP after 3 months. However, the presence of fibers in PP30 induces more degradation of the material: the weathering was more impactful on the biocomposite.