the effect of heat compression on mechanical … · daun nanas dan 20 % hampas tebu) dan n2t8 ......

i

THE EFFECT OF HEAT COMPRESSION ON MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR AND

MOISTURE CONTENT OF PINEAPPLE LEAF FIBRE AND SUGARCANE

BAGASSE WASTE FOR PLATE DISPOSAL

SAIFUL DIN BIN SABDIN

A thesis submitted in

fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the

Degree of Master of Mechanical Engineering

FACULTY OF MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA

JUNE 2014

v

ABSTRACT

The waste from farming and industry could be reduced and used as raw materials in

construction to achieve sustainable technologies. This study focuses on the use of waste

products from the pineapple leaf and sugarcane bagasse as compounds in replacing

polystyrenes and others plastics glass in the manufacture of plate disposal. This platter is

made from pineapple leaf and sugarcane bagasse by six (6) series of mixtures with

different percentages namely series 1 (20% of pineapple leaf), series 2 (30% of

pineapple leaf) series 3 (40% of pineapple leaf), series 4 (60 % of pineapple leaf), series

5 (70% of pineapple leaf) and series of 6 (80% of pineapple leaf). Two (2) series is

N8T2 (80% of pineapple leaf and 20 % sugarcane bagasse waste) and N2T8 (20% of

pineapple leaf and 80% sugarcane bagasse waste) focusing on this study for furthermore

understanding the effect of replacing plate disposal from pineapple laef fiber and

sugarcane bagasse waste material. A platter hot press machine is built with variable

adjustment temperature on the surface of the mold according parameters required are

50°C, 100°C and 150°C. The effect of heat compression on physical and mechanical

behavior of the pineapple leave and sugarcane bagasse waste plate disposal was

evaluated. From observation and results showed the best roughness surface appearance

on N2T8.The Optimum percentage pineapple leaf and sugarcane bagasse waste is good

present at heat parameter 50°C for specimen N2T8. The best water absorption on

specimen series N8T2 because pineapple leaf potential to hydroscopic and water

resistance. It can be concluded that pineapple leaf and sugarcane bagasse waste have

potential raw material for strength and lightweight of paper disposal composition

applications.

vi

ABSTRAK

Sisa daripada pertanian dan industri dapat dikurangkan dan digunakan sebagai bahan

mentah dalam pembinaan untuk mencapai teknologi yang mampan. Kajian ini memberi

tumpuan kepada penggunaan bahan buangan dari daun nanas dan hampas tebu sebagai

komposisi sebatian kertas dalam menggantikan polistrine dan plastik dalam pembuatan

pinggan pakai buang. Pinggan pakai buang ini dibuat daripada daun nanas dan hampas

tebu dengan dijalankan oleh enam (6) siri campuran dengan peratusan yang berbeza, siri

1 (20% daun nanas), siri 2 (30% daun nanas) siri n3 (40% daun nanas), siri 4 (60% daun

nanas), siri 5 (70% daun nanas) dan siri 6 (80% daun nanas). Dua (2) siri N8T2 (80%

daun nanas dan 20 % hampas tebu) dan N2T8 (20% daun nanas dan 80 % hampas tebu)

dikaji bagi menilai kesan penggunaan pinggan pakai buang daripada daun nenas dan

hampas tebu. Pembuatan mesin acuan pinggan mesin telah dibina serta berkeupayaan

melaras suhu pada permukaan acuan pinggan mengikut parameter 50°C, 100°C dan

150°C. Kesan daripada suhu tersebut pada peratusan daun nanas yang berbeza dan

hampas tebu pada tegangan dan keserapan air diambil dan ditunjukkan perbandingan

pada sifat- sifat fizikal dan mekanikal pinggan kertas daun nanas dan hampas tebu di

analisa. Faktor kelembapan dan ketumpatan pada setiap spesimen dikira dan

dibandingkan untuk mendapatkan spesimen yang terbaik dalam pembuatan pinggan

kertas .Dari segi penglihatan mata kasar dan keputusan pada permukaan pinggan yang

terhasil mendapati specimen N2T8 adalah terbaik tahap kehalusannya. Peratusan

optimum penggantian daun nanas dan hampas tebu adalah terbaik pada parameter haba

50°C untuk spesimen N2T8. Penyerapan air terbaik pada spesimen N8T2 kerana potensi

daun nanas untuk hidrokopik iaitu memantulkan semula air. Ini boleh membuat

kesimpulan bahawa daun nanas dan hampas tebu mempunyai potensi dalam kekuatan

dan ringan untuk pembuatan pinggan kertas buangan.

vii

CONTENTS

TITLE i

DECLARATION ii

DEDICATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv

ABSTRACT v

ABSTRAK vi

LIST OF TABLES xi

LIST OF FIGURES xiii

LIST OF APPENDICS xvi

LIST OF SYMBOLS xvii

CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Problem statement 2

1.3 Objective of study 5

1.4 Scope of study 5

1.5 Significance of study 6

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 Introduction 7

2.2 Current trend of composite 10

2.3 Use of natural fibre in composite paper plate 11

viii

2.4 Characteritistic of natural fibre for paper plate 14

2.5 Advantages of using natural fibre in composite paper

Plate 15

2.6 Use of pineapple leaf fibers and sugarcane bagasse

waste in composite paper plate 17

2.7 Tensile properties of PALF composite 23

2.8 Impact propeties of PALF composite 26

2.9 Flexural properties of PALF composite 26

2.10 Heat compression 27

2.11 Compounding and compression molding of nature

fibers. 29

2.12 Using natural fiber for paper 30

2.12.1 Printing 30

2.12.2 Industry 30

2.12.3 Tissues 30

2.13 Characterestics of paper 31

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 32

3.1 Introduction 32

3.2 Flow chart study 33

3.3 Machine design 35

3.4 Material selection 36

3.4.1 PALF preparation 38

3.5 PALF and sugarcane bagasse waste peparation 40

ix

3.5.1 Selection PALF and sugarcane bagasse

specimen 44

3.6 Moisture content 46

3.7 Density 46

3.8 Water absorption test 47

3.9 Mechanical test 48

3.9.1 Tensile test 49

3.9.2 Tensile strength and strain relationship 51

3.9.3 Young’s modulus 52

3.9.4 Tensile ductility 52

3.9.5 Tear testing 53

3.9.6 Tear factor 54

3.10 Surface roughness testing 54

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 56

4.1 Introduction 56

4.2 Physical properties of PALF 56

4.2.1 Effect of moisture content of PALF and

sugarcane bagasse waste 57

4.2.2 Bulk density 60

4.3 Water absorption 61

4.4 Effect of heat compression on mechanical

behaviour. 64

4.4.1 Tensile properties 64

x

4.4.2 Tearing properties 67

4.5 Surface roughness 69

4.6 Comparison between PALF and sugarcane bagasse

waste and others composite 70

4.7 The Optimum PALF and sugarcane bagasse waste

composition weightage 72

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION 74

5.1 Introduction 74

5.2 Conclusions 74

5.3 Recommendations for future work 76

REFERENCES 78

APPENDIX 84

xi

LIST OF TABLE

2.1 Advantages and disavdvantages of commercial

composite (Peter.,2002) 9

2.2 Mechanical and thermal properties of commercial

polyypropylene (Brydson.,1999) 9

2.3 The properties of pineapple leaf fibre and polypropylene

(RMN Arib et al., 2004). 14

2.4 Characteristic and mechanical fibre skin (b) leaves (I) and

seeds (S) 15

2.5 Advantages and disadvantages of natural fibre and glass fibre. 16

2.6 Physical and mechanical properties of PALF from SITRA

(Munirah Mohtar et al., 2007) 22

2.7 Effects of fibre length on tensile properties of PALF –

Reinforced Polyester Composites (fibre contetnt of 30 wt %)

(Munirah Mohktar et al.,2007) 24

2.8 Variation of tensile properties of PALF –reinforced polyester

composites as a function loading (fibre length 0f 30 mm)

(Munirah Mokhtar et al.,2007) 25

2.9 Improved adhesion of nature fibers 29

3.1 Parameter of PALF 39

3.2 PALF and sugarcane bagasse weighted composition 43

3.3 Specimen parameter for heat compression 45

3.4 Parameter mechanical test for specimen 49

4.1 Results on induction cooker for PALF 57

4.2 Results on moisture content composition PALF and sugarcane

bagasse waste 59

4.3 Results of water absorption after hot press 63

xii

4.4 Results on Young’s modulus for specimen 66

4.5 Results on elongation for specimen 66

4.6 Tearing Results 68

4.7 Results for surface roughness 70

4.8 Comparison of the physical and Mechanical properties of

(PALF +bagasse) and (PALF +PP). 71

xiii

LIST OF FIGURES

1.1 Demand for paper products (Mohd Asro, 2009). 4

2.1 Growth outlook for bio-based composites by application in

United States, 2000-2005 (Munirah Mohktar et al., 2007) 10

2.2 Classification of natural fiber from plant and animals 13

2.3 Structure of cellulose (shown top) and lignin (shown bottom):

basic constituents of fibers (L.T Drza et al., 2002) 14

2.4 Lamellae structure of cell walls of plants 17

2.5 Pineapple plant . 22

2.6 Sugarcane bagasse waste 23

2.7 Graph of effects of tensile strength and modulus for

melt-mixed composites (using Brabender Plasticoder) with

(a) Mixing time and (b) rotor speed. Both with fiber content

30 wt% (George et al., 1995) 25

2.8 Variation of flexural strength and flexural modulus with fiber

loading of PALF-polyester composites (Uma Devi et al., 1997) 27

2.9 Changes in tensile strength, modulus and work of fracture and

failure Strain of the C/SiC composites with heat treatment

temperatures from Room temperature to 1900°C

(Hui Meng et al.,2012) 28

2.10 The Morphologies of the fractured sections of C/SiC composites

before and after heat treatment. (Hui Meng et al.,2012) 28

3.1 Research methodology 34

3.2 Schematic of the composite consolidation 35

3.3 Heat and press machine 35

3.4 Process flow chart material selection (AHP) material

(SM Sapuan et al., 2011) 37

xiv

3.5 PALF cut to pieces 39

3.6 PALF put into mold 40

3.7 PALF and sugarcane bagasse waste 41

3.8 Flow chart pulp preparation 42

3.9 Water absorption test 43

3.10 Schematic preparation of pulp paper 44

3.11 Schematic preparation of specimen 45

3.12 Specification of Specimen. 45

3.13 Composition PALF and sugarcane bagasse waste 46

3.14 Schematic water absorption tester 47

3.15 Water absorption tester 48

3.16 Sheet Specimen 50

3.17 Number sample specimen 51

3.18 Tearing testing 54

3.19 Surface roughness test 55

4.1 Effect of time on PALF tensile strength and moisture content 57

4.2 Paper plate Size 58

4.3 Size of the specimen 58

4.4 Moisture content at specimen test 59

4.5 Effect of moisture content on PALF and bagasse composition 60

4.6 Effect of density PALF and bagasse composition 61

4.7 Specimen after hot press 62

4.8 Effect of water absorption on specimen after hot press 63

4.9 Effect of density on specimen after hot press 64

4.10 Effect of temperature on tensile strength 66

4.11 Effect of temperature on tearing strength 68

4.12 Effect of temperature of tearing factor 69

4.13 Surface of specimen 70

4.14 Effect of tensile strength and elongation at 100°C 72

4.15 The optimum effect of tensile and tearing on specimen 73

xv

4.16 The Effect of density on heat compression 73

xvi

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix Title Pages

A Vitae 83

xvii

LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

TAPPI Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry

ASTM American Society for Testing Material

ISO International Standardization for Organization

PALF Pineapple Leaf Fiber

UTHM Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, Malaysia

AHP Analytic Hierarchy Process

A0 Cross Sectional Area

D0 Diameter

L0 Initial gage length

JIS Japanese Institute of Standard

DIN German Institute for Standardization

σ Stress

ɛ Strain

σTS Ultimate Tensile Strength

σfracture Fracture Strength

Pmax Maximum Force

ΔL Elongation

K Strength Coefficient

g Gram

m Meter

SEM Scanning Electron Microscope

FRP Fiber reinforced plastic

PP Polypropylene

MFI Melt flow index

MMA Methyl methacrylate

NVP N-vinyl pyrrolidone

xviii

PL Polymer Loading

LDPE Low density polyethylene

RTM Resin transfer molding

NaOH Sodium Hydroxide

BPO Benzoyl peroxide

DCP Dicumyl peroxide

NR Nature rubber

HAF High Abrasion Furnace

CuSO4 Cuprum sulfate

AN Acrylonitrile

KIO4 Pottasium Periodate

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Natural fibres have been used from centuries mostly in thermoplastic composite for

application in consumer goods, furniture, low cost housing, civil building and

transportation industry. Such natural fibres usually used in composite are pineapple

leaf, bamboo, kenaf, jute, sisal, hemp, flax, coir fibre, sugar cane and etc. Natural

fibres have been proven to offer an advantages such as low cost and low density

compared to glass fibres (Westman et al., 2010). Increasing awareness in

environment throughout the world has resulted in utilizing natural fibres as

reinforcements in composite industry as it offer as renewable resources. This study

more focuses to pineapple leaf fibres (PALF) and sugarcane bagasse waste

composite to industry paper plate for new material as it subject. It was a waste

product of pineapple and bagasse cultivation and can be obtained to industrial

purpose without additional cost.

Since 1904, paper plates have become a staple in almost every household.

The traditional plastic plate materials are reinforced by glass fibres very expensive

and harmful to the environmental. Packaging materials, including recycled paper,

have to comply with a basic set of criteria concerning safety. This means that

recycled paper, used in food packaging, should prevent the potential migration of

components, which can pose health risks. A large number of chemicals are used in

the paper recycling process, such as bleach, paper strengthening agents and inks.

During the last few years, several studies on the migration of these chemicals from

paper, board and plastics into foodstuff and food stimulants have been published

(Anderson and Castle, 2003, Jickells et al., 2005, Song et al., 2003, Song et al., 2000,

Sturaro et al., 2006, Nerìn et al., 2007, Begley et al., 2008, Pastorelli et al., 2008,

Triantafyllou et al., 2007, Maia et al., 2009, Maia et al., 2010, Sanches-Silva et al.,

2

2009 and Zülch and Piringer, 2010). Traditional paper plates are naturally

biodegradable and can be disposed of in the ordinary trash. There are a number of

advantages of using natural fibres in bio composites among which are:

(i) Glass fibre is relatively expensive to make

(ii) Natural fibre low cost, low density and low energy consumption (Munirah

Mohktar et al., 2007).

Over the past decade, cellulosic fillers have been of greater interest as they give

composites improved mechanical properties compared to those containing non-

fibrous fillers. In recent years, thermoplastic materials have been increasingly used

for various applications (Folkes, 1982).

Christopher Columbus was the one who introduced the pineapple in the

world. He found in the waters of pineapple Caribbean in November 1493 during his

second voyage in the waters. Since the pineapple has spread around the world and in

the 16th century pineapple was introduced in Malaysia by the Portuguese. Johor state

a major producer of pineapples in Malaysia with an area of 9,830 hectares 57% of

the acreage in Malaysia (Agriculture ministry 2010). On these days, it was popular

pineapple in the world with a variety of products on the market.

Plate disposal by pineapple leaves composite is one of the applications of

using natural materials. In recent years, there have been rapid growths in research of

using natural fibre in paper by using different natural fibres. Hence, the aim of this

present study is to investigate the suitability of using PALF and sugarcane bagasse

waste as a raw material in disposal plate to replace polystyrene and plastic glass. The

mechanical properties such as tensile and bending properties were also investigated.

1.2 Problem statement

In the past, most of the products plates in the market are made from polystyrene,

plastic glass and composite from wood based material. Even though polystyrene and

plastic glass provide effective sound absorption, lightweight, good insulation, non-

combustible and ease of installation, it also have a few disadvantage which can

irritate respiratory system, skin rashes, sore throat, dry irritated eyes, headache in

short term and with long term exposure it can cause long-term health damage such as

3

cancer. In addition, Polystyrene glass fibre have been found not degrade when

released that will result in environmentally pollution (Ishak et al., 2009).

Nowadays, there is increasing demand for using nature and waste materials in

composite industry for making low cost construction material. There are many

advantages of using natural material over traditional glass fibre such as acceptable as

good specific strengths and modulus, low density, low weight, good

biodegradability, reduced respiratory irritation and renewable resources. Therefore,

agriculture by-product was used as preferred options in product due to low cost. In

this study, PALF and sugarcane bagasse waste was introduced as alternatives of that

plate disposal.

On other hand, this material can provide the alternative paper for new

product. In everyday life, paper is the most important ingredient for use in printing,

packaging, storage and dissemination of information. However, technology is

growing by leaps and bounds, in the use of paper is so widespread these days and the

demand is increasing day by day. Figure 1.1 shows the demand of the growing paper

production and are expected to continue to increase in 2015 of 490 million tones.

This is due to the increase in world population and development education (Mohd

Asro, 2009).

Refer to this situation; various alternatives have been introduced to replace

the main source of wood in pulp and paper industry (Chao, 2000). Continued use of

wood as a raw material for paper production will result in the destruction of forests

and thus the possibility of limited timber supply crisis.

Natural fibre composites form a new class of materials which seem to have

good potential in the future as a substitute for wood based material in many

applications. However, lack of good interfacial adhesion and poor resistance to

moisture absorption makes the use of natural fibre composites less attractive. Various

fibre surface treatments like mercerization, isocyanate treatment, acrylation, latex

coating, permanagante treatment, acetylation, silane treatment and peroxide

treatment have been carried out which may result in improving composite properties.

Research on a cost effective modification of natural fibres is necessary since the

main attraction for today’s market of bio composites is the competitive cost of

natural fibre. Interfaces play an important role in the physical and mechanical

4

properties of composites. Reinforcing fibres are normally given surface treatments to

improve their compatibility with the polymer matrix.

In Malaysia, Pineapple Leaf not has been planted widely for various purposes

especially used in composite technology. Therefore, this study is looking for

utilizing the waste which is combination of PALF core and agent natural bagasse for

potentially replacing of existing plastic or polystyrene in disposal plate. Since the

study on suitability of PALF waste as a reinforcing material in composite layer and

treatments is very limited and the understanding need to be improved made this study

become important. As a result, these studies focus on determining the performance of

PALF waste and sugarcane bagasse in terms of tensile, tearing, water absorption and

surface roughness.

Figure 1.1: Demand of paper products (Mohd Asro, 2009).

5

1.3 Objectives of study

The objectives of this study are:

(i) To study the effect of variable heat compression on mechanical behaviour of

nature composite fibre PALF and sugarcane bagasse waste plate.

(ii) To determine the moisture content and density of composite nature fiber PALF

and sugarcane bagasse plate disposal.

(iii) To determine surface roughness of composite nature fibre PALF and

sugarcane bagasse waste plate using surface roughness machine.

1.4 Scope of study

The scope of this study focuses on experimental investigation on the influence of

replacing paper plate disposal from wood with waste from pineapple leaves and

sugarcane bagasse waste. In order to access the suitability of pineapple leave and

sugarcane bagasse waste in composite paper plate, it is important to investigate the

basic characteristics and properties of this material such as moisture content, density

and tensile properties of paper plate dispossal. The investigation include of

preparation of raw materials, heat and press machine and testing the samples. The

mechanical properties and fracture surface appearances of composite nature fibre

waste were first carried out. The scopes of research were:

(i) To design and fabricate the heat and press machine for plate disposal.

(ii) Material selection, PALF and sugarcane bagasse plate disposal with

composition percentage (20% PALF and 80% sugarcane bagasse waste) and

(80% PALF and 20% sugarcane bagasse waste)

(iii) Preparation of pulp with sodium hydroxide as ratio1:10

(iv) Preparation of specimen with different heat compression temperature 50°C,

100°C and 150°C

(v) To perform the physical properties (water absorption, density, moisture

content) and mechanical test is (tensile and tear test).

(vi) To measure the surface roughness.

All the test specimens were tested for physical and mechanical behaviour.

The physical properties tests include determining the moisture content and density of

6

plate. The mechanical behaviour test includes determining Modulus of Young’s of

specimen. All the tests were conducted in UTHM Laboratory at Faculty of

Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. All data obtained were analyzed and

conclusions are made based on the results.

1.5 Significance of study

This research is important to give a further understanding on effect of replacing plate

disposal from wood with waste from PALF and sugarcane bagasse towards the

strength properties of composite treatment. There is rapidly increasing in demand of

using natural material in plastic industry and product development to concern with

environment and in order to achieve low value of Pineapple leaf waste.

Furthermore, PALF and sugarcane bagasse waste can be a potential as a

reinforcing material in order to give better strength performance of material such as

plate. Since the properties of waste from PALF its self is unknown and the utilizing

of PALF waste as a product is very limited, it made this study very important. It is

expected that by substituting the waste from PALF and sugarcane bagasse waste, it

can improve the strength of plate disposal and at the same time it will produce a

material with lower cost and eco-friendly product. Besides that, as the construction

industry grew and developed, the industry require reinforcing material to improve

performance into certain level of strength and stiffness as well as to reduce the cost

of production.

7

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

Last few decades, fibre reinforced composites have gained popularity due to

lightweight characteristics, low cost, available and also renewable compared to

others man-made fibres (Udoeyo et al., 2012). Nowadays, most of composites

technology for product development is utilizing natural fibres form as an interesting

option due to successful substitution of woody material in wood based panel

products. Composite is a combination of two or more materials which one of the

materials called as reinforcing materials. Each of the material has different

characteristic and properties in order to improve the performance of the resultant

composites (Youngquist et al., 1997)

The aim of composite paper technology is to produce a product with improve

in quality and performance characteristics and at the same time reduce the cost of

production. Modification of properties can be done by the physical combination of two

polymers or by the physical combination of a polymer with a non-polymeric

component. One type of the methods is through forming composite material.

Composites natural fibers are formed by combination of a polymer of some type

non-polymeric solid or by combination of some types of engineering materials.

Commonly, composites tend to have characteristics such as high strength; high

modulus; low density; and excellent resistance to fatigue, creep, creep rupture,

corrosion and wear (Youngquist et al., 1997). Table 2.1 lists some advantages and

disadvantages of composites.

In the paper composite for plate production process, it uses the primary

material of cellulose (DIN 6730, ISO 4046). Typically, cellulose used was derived

from wood, jute, and banana. In the process of producing fibers, pieces of wood that

have been formed will undergo a process called pulping (pulping process). The

8

resulting pulp is then processed into paper.Nowadays application of typical or

commercial composites still limited due to the economic factor. Since these

composites used fibre glass or other engineering material as the reinforcement, the

cost of raw materials and fabrication will be high. This is very obvious in industrial

field that required advance composite material, for instance aeronautic and marine

engineering.

According to Klaus Peter Mieck’s perspective (1999) reported in general,

polymeric composites are formed by combining fibres and polymer resin which

also known as fibre reinforced plastic (FRP). The term polymer refers as long chain

molecule that is composed of a large number of repeating units of identical

structure. This covalent bonding is formed via polymerization process and can have

shape of linear or even more complicated networking. Polymer can be divided into

two major groups based on their thermal processing behaviours: thermoset and

thermoplastic. Thermoplastic refers to polymer that can be melting processed by a

variety of methods, including extrusion and moulding. These include polyethylene,

polypropylene, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride. On the other hand, thermoset

are polymer whose individual chains have been chemically linked by covalent

bonds during polymerization or by subsequent chemical or thermal treatment. Once

formed, the cross linked networks resist heat softening, creep and solvent attack.

Principle thermosets are epoxies, polyesters and formaldehyde-based resins.Judging

from the trade off between stable thermosets and recyclability of thermoplastic, the

main concern of this study is on thermoplastic.

Brydson (1999) reported the Polypropylene (PP) has been chosen as the

matrix of composite as it has low processing temperature (below 230°C) which

will not degrade the fibre. PP is one of the most successful commodity synthetic

polymers. In volume terms, PP takes the fourth place after polyester, polyamide and

acrylic fibres. It is widely used because of its low density (0.905 g/cm3), high

crystalline and also high stiffness and hardness. Table 2.2 is the properties of five

commercial materials by the same manufacturer which are of approximately the

same isotactic content but which differ in molecular weight. Increase in melt flow

index (MFI) means decrease in molecular weight. From the grade of matrix forming

PP has less effect on the tensile and flexural properties of the composites. Generally,

9

PP of fineness between 1.7-6.7 indexes with lengths of 40-60 mm is considered

suitable. Even PP obtained from recycling processes can also be used.

Table 2.1: Advantages and disadvantages of commercial composite (Peter, 2002)

Advantages Disadvantages

High strength- or stiffness- to-weight

ratio

Transverse properties may be weak

Tailorable properties: can tailor strength

or stiffness to be in the load direction

Matrix weakness, low toughness

Cost of raw materials and fabrication

Redundant load paths (fibre to fibre) Matrix subject to environmental degradation

Longer life (no corrosion), better fatigue

life

Difficult to attach

Lower manufacturing costs

Inherent damping

Increased (or decreased) thermal or

electrical conductivity

Analysis for physical properties and

mechanical properties difficult, analysis for

damping efficiency has not reached a

consensus.

Weight reduction Non-destructive testing tedious

Table 2.2: Mechanical and thermal properties of polypropylene (Brydson, 1999)

Property Test Method Homopolymer

Melt Flow Index (MFI) (a)

a

3.0 0.7 0.2

Tensile Strength (lb in-2) (b) 5000 4400 4200

(MN/m2) 34 30 29

Elongation at Break (%) (b) 350 115 175

Flexural Modulus (lb in-2) - 190000 170000 160000

(MN/m2) 1310 1170 1100

Brittleness Temperature (°C) I.CI. /ASTM D746 +15 0 0

Vicat Softening Point (°C) BS 2782 145-150 148 148

Rockwell hardness (R-scale) - 95 90 90

Impact Strength (ft lb) 10 25 34

(J) (c) 13.5 34 46

10

(i) Standard polyethylene grader: load 2.16kg at 230°C

(ii) Straining rate 18 in/min

(iii) Falling weight test on 14 in diameter moulded bowls at 20°C

2.2 Current trend of composite

In this new era of technology, availability of bio-based composites offer the

opportunity for environmental gains, reduced energy consumption, light weight,

insulation and sound absorption properties, reduction in volatile organic

emissions, and reduction in the dependence on petroleum based and forest

product based materials. The development of sustainable materials as an alternative

for petroleum based materials is being studied to decrease the dependence on oil

or petroleum. This also can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and to generate a more

economic opportunity for the agricultural sector globally. Figure 2.1 shows the

outlook of application of bio-based composites in United State of America. It is

forecasted that the introduction of bio-based composites will soon alter the

global trend of composite and serves as a better choice when selecting the

appropriate construction materials. (Munirah Mohktar et al., 2007)

Figure 2.1: Growth outlook for bio-based composites by application in United

State, 2000-2005 (Munirah Mohktar et al., 2007)

11

2.3 Use of natural fibre in composite paper plate

Fibre is a continuous material that is like hair which also can be in the form of matted

into sheets. Fibre can be classified into natural fibre and man-made or synthetic fibre.

Source of natural fibre are include plant and animal. Natural fibre from plant can be

classified into non-wood fibres and wood fibres. Natural fibre from plant considered

as a source of lignocelluloses fibres. Source of natural fibre from plant mostly used

include jute, flax, pineapple leaf, kenaf, bamboo, sisal, abaca, oil palm, rice husk,

coir, coconut and hemp (Westman et al., 2010). While natural fibre from animal

usually comprise of proteins, such as collagen, keratin and fibroin. Some examples of

animal fibres are silk, sinew, wool, catgut, mohair and alpaca.

According to Othman (1980) report natural fiber is a fiber derived from

natural sources. It is used as a key raw material in the textile industry. In general,

natural fiber obtained from plants, animals or minerals in the origin Plant fibers have

an element attached to the lignin and cellulose, such as cotton, hemp, jute, hemp and

sisal. The fibers of this type are taken in from the trunk. In addition, it is also taken

from the leaves like pineapple leaves. These fibers are widely used in paper making

and textile industries. Unlike wood fiber, it is the principal sources. Fiber from plants

is renewable and naturally biodegradable. Pulp is one of the main raw materials used

in paper making industry.

The density (g/cm3) of natural fibers (varies from -1.2-1.5) is much less than

that of E-glass (2.55) the specific strength of natural fibers is quite comparable to

glass fibers. The elastic modulus and specific modulus of natural fibers are

comparable or even superior to E-glass fibers ( L.T. Drzal et al. 2002).

There are several factors affecting fibre properties and one of the most

significant factors is the chemical properties. Rowell et al. (2000) has made a wide

coverage on the characterization and factors affecting fibre properties. They stated

that a high aspect ratio (length / width) is important in agro-based fibre (natural fibre)

composites as it gives an indication of possible strength properties. A few of vast

array of fibre structures that exist in the plant were shown in their work. Major

differences in structure such as density and cell wall thickness, did result in

differences in physical properties.

12

Rozman et al., (1999) studied on the use of coconut fibre and glass as

reinforcements in PP hybrid composites. The incorporation of both coconut fibre and

glass fibre into the PP matrix has resulted in the reduction of flexural, tensile and

impact strengths compared to unreinforced PP. This phenomenon appeared

because there is more incompatibility between the fibres and the PP matrix as well as

the irregularity in fibre size. As a result, the stress transfer in matrix is not efficient and

lead to lowering in the strength of the material. By increasing the fibre loading, the

tensile and flexural modular has been improved. The result also indicated that

more bio-fibres could be incorporated in hybrid composites, which would give the

same range of properties s the composites with higher loading of glass fibres.

The study by Mubarak and Idriss Ali (1999) was based on wood-plastic

composite (WPC). Low-grade wood (soft wood like kadom, simul and mango) was

reinforced by monomer of methyl methacrylate (MMA) to achieve the quality of

high-grade wood. The effect of additives like urea and N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP)

was also considered. Lastly the authors concluded that there has been a significant

amount of enhancement of polymer loading (PL) in the wood samples upon

incorporating additives into the bulk monomer MMA. The cros slink density has

increased significantly. Besides, MMA has improved the tensile strength, bending

strength and compression strength of low-grade wood.

Traditionally, natural fibres started to use to fulfil the basic requirements such

as clothing, ropes and textiles, fishing nets and later have been develop for domestic

use. Most of olden people used type of natural fibre depending on their availability.

Their accepted and satisfactory mechanical properties make them an attractive

alternative to glass fibre, asbestos and other manmade fibres that used for

manufacturing composites. Since natural fibre can be a potential to be used as a

replacement for traditional reinforcing material, a lot of work have been done by

researches on suitability of natural fibre in composite industry (Soraya et al., 2011).

In recent years, more attention were focused on using natural fibres especially

from plant species due to increasing awareness on environment and energy in order

to protect the environment and to conserve the environment. Successful utilization of

natural fibre especially from plant fibre in producing eco friendly materials causes

more utilization on natural fibre including waste from agriculture (Ganjian et al.,

2010).

13

Research on utilizing natural fibre in composite has been conducted since

1900’s, but much attention has been given last few decades. The usage of natural

fibre can be limited due to its major factor of low strength compared to glass fibre

and the water absorption of natural fibre from the air and direct contact from the

environment are high. However, the previous research shown that the specific

strength of natural fibre composite not much less than glass fibre composites

(Westman et al., 2010).

A report by Ganjian et al., (2010), by using suitable natural cellulose fibres,

more products can be produce with variety uses with new technology. This is based

on the type of fibre used, its ratio in the mix design, type and amount of additive

material used and also the method of manufacturing. Sometimes, natural fibre can be

also used in combination with other synthetic material in cement product in order to

improve the mechanical properties of the product.

Figure 2.2: Classification of natural fibre from plant and animal

Protein (ANIMAL FIBERS)

Silk & wool

Hardwood &

softwood

Flax, hemp,

jute, Kenaf,

Ramie

Pineapple,

sisal, Abaca,

banana,

palm, fique ,

henequen,

Cotton,

coconut,

Bamboo,

rice

Wood Stem/ Bast Leaf GrassFruit /seed

Lignocelluloses Fibres (PLANT)

14

Figure 2.3: Structure of cellulose (shown top) and lignin (shown bottom): basic

constituents of natural fibers (L.T. Drzal et al. 2002)

Table 2.3: The properties of pineapple leaf fibre and polypropylene (R.M.N

Arib et al., 2004):

2.4 Characteristics of natural fiber for paper plate

Each fiber has different physical properties from each other. This depends on the

position of the fiber in the plant and the fiber growth. It depends on the (strength or

modulus) divided by the specific gravity. The properties of this fiber is affected by

the micro fibril angle is in the fibers (Ahmad Iqbal, 2013).

Properties

Density

(g/cm3)

Tensile

Strength

(Mpa)

Young’s

modulus

(Mpa)

Elongation at

Break (%)

PALF 1.07 126.60 4405 2.2

PP 0.9 35.13 531.12 16

15

Table 2.4 Characteristics and mechanical fiber skin (b), leaves (I) and seeds (S):

(Ahmad Iqbal, 2013)

Natural

fibre

Density

(Kg/M3)

Tensile

Strength

(MPa)

Specific

strength

(MPa)

Modulus of

Elasticity

(GPa)

Specific

modulus

(GPa)

Angle

Microfibril

(Ө)

Flax(b) 1500 500-900 345-620 50-70 34-34-4848 5

hemp(b) 1500 310-750 210-510 30-60 20-41 6.2

Jute(b) 1500 200-450 140-320 20-55 14-39 8.1

Kenaf(b) 1200 295-1191 246-993 22-60 18-50 -

Banana (I) 1350 529-914 392-677 27-32 20-24 11-12

Pineapple

(I)1440 413-1627 287-1130 60-82 42-57 6-14

Sisal(I) 1450 80-840 55-580 9-22 6-15 10-22

cotton(s) 1550 300-700 194-492 6-10 4-6.5 20-30

fibre(s) 1150 106-175 92-152 6 5.2 39-49

2.5 Advantages of using natural fibre in composite paper plate

There are a number of advantages and disadvantages offered by using lignocelluloses

fibres in cement composites compared with traditional glass fibres such as low cost,

safe handling, biodegradability, ecological characteristic, minimize weight and

volume and low density. Some of disadvantages of using natural fibres are low

resistance to moisture content and quality changes due to seasons of growth (Terciu

et al., 2012). By using natural fibre, it can offer lightweight building components,

with excellent thermal and acoustic performance.

It has been proved to offer more environmental benefits such as reduce

dependency on non-renewable energy, lower pollutant emissions, enhanced energy

recovery, and end of life biodegradability of components. The most widely choice of

natural fibre in composite material is jute fibre based on Jute fibres have various

advantages such as high specific properties, low density, and good dimensional

stability with a low cost and produced eco friendly product and the most important it

is abundantly available. Jute has good mechanical properties, stiffness and strength in

composite made it suitable for used as building application and in construction

industry. Furthermore, there are many application of using natural fibre in

16

composites such application includes in building and construction industry; panels

for partition, wall, floor, window and door frames, roof tiles, pre fabricated

buildings, as furniture; chair, table, shower, bath units, electrical appliances, pipes,

transportation; automobile and railway coach interior, boat and etc (Soraya et al.,

2011).

There are three main components in the formation of plant fibers of cellulose,

and lignin semi cellulose. Cellulose is the main component and it is widely available

on the S2 in a lamellar structure of the cell walls of plants shows in figure 2.4.

Cellulose molecules have a high tendency to form intra-and intermolecular hydrogen

bonds and with the same aggregate in veins micro 'micro fibrils' (Fengel et al, 1989).

Semi cellulose component has two types of fine wood (Softwood) and wood hard

(hardwood). As a hydrophilic polymer, semi cellulose has a high capacity for water

absorption. Thus, the high content semi celulos will improve the flexibility of a fiber

(Richard et al, 2009). The working principle component lignin in plants is working to

help the movement of water. The presence of lignin can form a barrier that will

prevent water evaporation process while helping the movement of water into the

critical areas in the plants (Yahaya, 2012).

Table 2.5: Advantages and disadvantages of natural fibre and glass fibre

Natural Fibres Glass Fibres

Density Low Twice that of natural fibre

Cost LowLow, but higher than natural

fibre

Renewability Yes No

Recyclability Yes No

Energy consumption Low High

Distribution Wide Wide

CO2 neutral Yes No

Abrasion to machines No Yes

Health risk when inhaled No Yes

Disposal Biodegradable Not biodegradable

17

Figure 2.4: Lamellae structure of cell walls of plants

2.6 Use of pineapple leaf fibres and sugarcane bagasse waste in composite

paper plate

Agriculture is an important sector in Malaysian economy. Traditionally, agricultural

materials have been shipped away for processing, or disposed of postharvest.

Diversification of the industry is crucial in encouraging economic stability and

growth. Value-added processing would helps in agricultural diversification. PALF

the subject of the present study is a waste product of pineapple cultivation. Hence,

pineapple fibre can be obtained for industrial purposes without any additional cost.

PALF serving as reinforcement fibre in most of the plastic matrix has shown

its significant role as it is cheap, exhibiting superior properties when compared to

other natural fibre as well as encouraging agriculture based economy. PALF is multi-

cellular and lignocelluloses materials extracted from the leave of plant Ananas

cosomus belonging to the Bromeliaceous family by retting (separation of fabric

bundles from the cortex). PALF has a ribbon-like structure and is cemented

Secondary wall

inner layer S3

Secondary wall

outer layer S1

Intercellular

substance I

Secondary wall

middle layer S2

Primary wall P

18

together by lignin, pentose-like materials, which contribute to the strength of the

fibre (George et al., 2000). Figure 2.5 shows on the PALF is a multi cellular fibre

like other vegetable fibres. Their study also found that the cells in this fibre have

average diameter of about 10 µm and mean length of 4.5 mm with aspect ratio of

450. The thickness of the cell wall (8.3 µm) lies between sisal (12.8 µm) and banana

leaf fibre (1.2 µm). The excellent mechanical properties of PALF are associated

with this high cellulose and low micro febrile angel.

Pineapple -shaped leaves resemble long swords pointed at the tip, black and

green color on the edges of the leaves have spines that are very sharp. Normally,

pineapple leaf length between about 55 cm to 75 cm with a width of 3.1 cm to 5.3 cm

and thickness of 0.18 cm to 0:27 cm. The length and nature of pineapple leaf crops

depending on the distance and the sun factor. Sunlight is less able to produce a strong

and fine fiber (Praktino Hidayat , 2008) .

Pineapple leaf has two outer layers consisting of the top layer and bottom

layer. Between the top layer and the bottom layer, there is a lot of bonding or - strand

fiber strands bound to each other by a binder of gluten (Gummy substances) found in

the leaves. This binder will strengthen pineapple leaf during growth as pineapple

leaves have no midrib. The leaves are still green fresh pineapple will yield of

approximately 2.5 % to 3.5 % of pineapple leaf fiber (Praktino Hidayat, 2008).

Arib et al., (2004) have provided an overview of the development,

mechanical properties and uses of PALF reinforced polymer composites. Both

the thermosets and thermoplastic resins have been used as matrices for this

natural fibre. Short PALF are mostly used in the various researchers discussed. This

literature review concluded some future research that might draw PALF to a more

developed area. They proposed that the major study can focus on long PALF;

manufacturing such as autoclave moulding, vacuum bag moulding as well as

resin transfer moulding (RTM); possible uses of PALF composites and also the

study on properties can be further extended to creep, fatigue, physical and

electrical properties.

There are a lot of researches done on PALF and most of them reported that

incorporation of this fibre will further enhance the properties of the composite.

George et al. (1995) studied the short PALF reinforced Low-density polyethylene

(LDPE) composites. It stressed on mechanical properties of composite prepared by

19

two methods, namely the melt mixing and solution mixing. The influences of fibre

length, fibre loading and fibre orientation have also been evaluated. Besides, the

fibre breakage and damage during processing were analyzed from fibre distribution

curve and optical and scanning electron micrographs. As a summary, the best

optimum parameters for melt mixing are with mixing time of 6 min, rotor speed of

60 rpm and mixing temperature of 130°C while 6mm of fibre length is the most

suitable length to enhance good properties in solution mixing. In comparison of

these two preparation methods, melted-mixed composites showed lower properties

than solution-mixed composites due to the extensive fibre damage and breakage during

melt mixing. The recyclability and reprocess ability have also been reported.

Recyclability of the composites was found to be very good; its properties remain

constant up to third extrusion. This is beyond the marginally decrease of property

due to thermal effect and degradation of the fibre.

Uma Devi et al. (1997) investigated the mechanical behaviour of PALF

reinforced polyester composites as a function of fibre loading, fibre length, and fibre

surface modification. Tensile strength and modulus of this thermoset composite

were found to increase linearly with fibre content. The impact strength was also

found to follow the same trend. However in the case of flexural strength, there was a

levelling off beyond 30 wt % fibre content. A significant improvement in the

mechanical properties was observed when treated fibres were used to reinforce the

composite. The best improvement was observed in the study of silane A-172 treated

fibre composites. Uma Devi and his members summarized that the PALF reinforced

polyester composites exhibit superior mechanical properties when compared to other

natural fibre polyester composites.

The study of melt rheological behaviours of short PALF-LDPE was reported

by George et al. (1996a). The effect of fibre loading, fibre length and fibre treatment

in the rheology aspect was investigated. In general, the viscosity of PALF-LDPE

composite increased with fibre loading due to an increased hindrance to the flow. It

was also found that the viscosity of the flow decreases with increase of temperature

but not for treated fibre composite. Cross linking happens in composite at higher

temperature.

Works by George et al. (1996b) emphasized on the effect of fibre loading and

surface modification to thermo gravimetric and dynamic mechanical thermal

20

analysis of PALF-LDPE composite. At high temperature (350°C where

cellulose decomposes), PALF degrades before the LDPE matrix. However the

storage modulus E’increased with increase of fibre loading in dynamic mechanical

thermal analysis. It was also found that improved interaction exerted by the

chemical treatments makes the composition more mechanically and thermally stable

than the untreated fibre composite. By the way, dynamic module increased with

increasing frequency due to the reduced segmental mobility.

Research by George and his team (1998) shifted their interest of study on

PALF-LDPE to the effects of environment. The influence of water environment on

the sorption characteristics of PALF-LDPE was the main subject of their study. The

effects of fibre loading, temperature and chemical treatment on the sorption behaviour

were evaluated. There are four chemical treatment carried out for PALF fibre

which are alkali treatment (sodium hydroxide, NaOH), silane treatment (silane

A172), isocyanate (poly (methylene) poly (phenyl) isocyanate, PMPPIC) and

peroxide (benzoyl peroxide, BPO; dicumyl peroxide, DCP). Among these various

treatments, the degree of water absorption was observed to be increased in the order

PMPPIC < BPO < Silane < NaOH < DCP < Untreated. In other word, the interfacial

interaction increased in the order of Untreated < DCP < NaOH < Silane < BPO <

PMPPIC. Actually the fibre-matrix bonding becomes weak with increasing moisture

content, resulting in interfacial failure.

Short PALF is not just limits its function as reinforcement to thermoplastic or

thermoset but also to the extent of elastomeric natural rubber, (NR). Timir Baran

Bhattacharyya et al. (1986) investigated the effect of PALF on natural rubber with

respect to fibre-rubber adhesion; anisotropy in physical properties; processing

characteristic; ageing resistance; and comparative changes in physical properties and

processing characteristics between High Abrasion Furnace (HAF) carbon black

reinforced rubber. To conclude, they stated that the addition of PALF to NR

increased the shore hardness and decreased the elongation at break. Carbon black with

PALF reinforced NR composite gave high hardness, low elongation, moderate

tensile strength and moderate flex resistance.

In hybrid composite which consists of more than two materials, Mohanty et al.

(2000) focused on chemical modification of PALF with graft copolymerization of

acrylonitrile onto defatted PALF. The graft copolymerization of acrylonitrile (AN)

21

onto defatted PALF was studied using combination of cuprum sulfate (CuSO4) and

potassium period ate (KIO4) as an initiator in an aqueous medium. The effects of

these substances’concentration, time, and temperature, amount of some inorganic

salts and organic solvents on the graft yield were reported. In conclusion, the writers

stated that the combination of [Cu2+] ion and [IO4i] ion produced optimum grafting at

certain condition. Neither KIO4 nor CuSO4 alone can induce the polymerization of

AN to the PALF surface. All in all, grafting improves the thermal stability of PALF.

As a whole, a numbers of researchers agreed that PALF has improved the

properties of various composites. In the following sections, some major mechanical

properties will be elaborated, namely tensile, and flexural and impact properties.

Sugarcane bagasse is considered a non-biodegradable solid waste material.

Brazilian sugarcane industry generates a considerable amount of sugarcane bagasse

as that is estimated in about 2.5 million tons per year (Cordeiro, 2006). However,

Brazilian sugarcane industry is still booming, so that the levels of such sugarcane

bagasse ash waste are expected to continuously increase. Traditionally, Malaysia

sugarcane bagasse has been mainly disposed of as soil fertilizer .So that the

development of economically viable recycling technology for sugarcane bagasse

waste acquires a growing relevance.

Sugarcane bagasse ash waste can be characterized as a solid waste material,

rich in crystalline silica (Faria et al., 2010), being thus also likely to be used as

ceramic raw material. In fact, this waste has been used as an additive to cement,

concrete and mortar mixtures (Payá et al., 2002, Frias and Villar-Cocina,

2007 and Ganesan et al., 2007). In addition to this, ash wastes such as coal fly ash,

rice husk ash, and sunflower husk ash are also being used as raw materials for

ceramic products (Little et al., 2008, Rukzon and Chindaprasirt, 2008 and Quaranta

et al., 2011). The use of sugarcane bagasse ash waste for obtaining clay ceramics has

also been recently suggested (Borlini et al., 2005, Vieira et al., 2006 and Teixeira

et al., 2008).

22

Figure 2.5: Pineapple plant

Table 2.6: Physical and mechanical properties of PALF from SITRA (Munirah

Mohktar et al., 2007)

Properties Unit Value

Density g/cm3 1.526

Softening Point °C 104

Tensile Strength MPa 170

Young’s Modulus MPa 6260

Specific Modulus MPa 4070

Elongation at Break % 3

Moisture regain % 12

Leaf

Fruit

23

Figure 2.6: Sugarcane bagasse waste

2.7 Tensile properties of PALF composite

Tensile properties are some of the most widely tested properties of natural fibre

reinforced composites. Recently, investigation for the PALF reinforced composite’s

tensile properties have covered the effect of mixing condition for melt mixing,

condition for solution mixing, fibre length, fibre loading, chemical treatment, fibre

orientation, water absorption and weathering effect. Noteworthy studies of tensile

properties of PALF reinforced composites are Uma Devi et al. (1997), George et al.

(1995) and George et al. (1997).

Uma Devi et al. (1997) observed that there were changes in tensile properties

with fibre length and fibre loading of PALF in polyester composites. Table 2.7

shows that the most outstanding Young’s modulus achieved for PALF reinforced

polyester is at fibre length of 30 mm with value of 2290 MPa. The author believed

that the decrease in the strength of the fibres above a fibre length of 30 mm can be

explained as fibre entanglements occur above an optimum size of fibre. As for fibre

loading, Table 2.8 compares the tensile properties with the effect of fibre loading.

Basically, addition of fibre loading increased the Young’s modulus. Addition

of 40 wt % of fibre increased the modulus by 340 %. For tensile strength, as an

overall, the properties increased when the fibre loading increased. However the

addition of 10 wt % fibre showed a slight decrease in tensile strength. This is

attributed by the fact that small amount of fibre acts as flaws.

24

George et al. (1995) compared the properties exhibited by melt-mixing and

solution mixing methods to produce PALF-LDPE composites. From Figure 2.7(a), it

can be seen that when the mixing time is less; tensile strength and Young’s modulus

are decreasing because of the ineffective mixing and poor dispersion of the fibre in

LDPE. On the other hand, as mixing time increases, the tensile strength increases and

have the optimum mixing time of 6 minutes. The orientated composite exhibits

higher tensile properties as shown compared to the randomly oriented composite.

Figure 2.7(b) describes that as rotor speed is higher, the tensile properties increased.

However there is a level off at the peek point of 60 rpm. The increased rotor

speed to 80 rpm shows reduction in strength occurs due to the fibre breakage at

higher rotor speed.

Table 2.7 summarizes that pineapple- and sisal-fibre- filled composites have

comparable mechanical properties. In longitudinally oriented PALF-LDPE, the

addition of 10 wt % fibres causes an increase of about 92 % in tensile strength

for LDPE whereas in sisal composites the corresponding value cited 83 % only.

However sisal-LDPE has better Young’s Modulus value in comparison with PALF-

LDPE. Among these three composites, PALF-LDPE system appeared to have the

highest elongation at break values. Actually PALF-LDPE has indicated these

superior performances due to the high cellulose content.

Table 2.7: Effect of fibre length on tensile properties of PALF-reinforced polyester

composites (fibre content of 30 wt %) (Munirah Mohktar et al., 2007)

Fibre Content Young’s Modulus Tensile Strength Elongation at Break

(wt %) (MPa) (MPa) (%)

0 580 20.6 1.6

10 1770 17.1 1.3

20 1830 40.0 3.0

30 2290 52.9 3.6

40 2520 63.3 5.0

78

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