Foaming behavior of cellulose fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites in extrusion

摘要

This paper investigates the effect of polypropylene type and cellulose content on the foaming behavior of cellulose fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites in extrusion. Two types of polypropylene (linear and branched structures) were used as a polymer matrix. The thermal properties of the composites were characterized by a differential scanning calorimeter, and the viscosity of the composites was evaluated by a rotational rheometer. The foaming behavior of the composites was examined using an extrusion foaming system, in which carbon dioxide was used as a physical blowing agent for foams. The results suggested that the cell density increased with the increase of cellulose content. On the other hand, the void fraction decreased with the addition of cellulose, but the void fraction at the 40wt% cellulose was higher than that at the 20wt% cellulose. The results also indicated that the two types of polypropylene had a minimal effect on the foaming behaviors of the cellulose fiber composites.