Effects of rubber seed shell microparticle addition on polypropylene/kenaf composite

Firdaus, Muhammad 'Izzat Syahmi (2014) Effects of rubber seed shell microparticle addition on polypropylene/kenaf composite. Project Report. Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia. (Submitted)

	Text (24 Pages) EFFECTS OF RUBBER SEED SHELL MICROPARTICLE ADDITION ON POLYPROPYLENEKENAF COMPOSITE 24PAGES.pdf - Submitted Version Download (1MB)
	Text (Full Text) Effects of rubber seed shell microparticle addition on polypropylene-kenaf composite.pdf - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (5MB)

Abstract

Natural fiber is one of the potential candidates to be used with the thermoplastic as a composite. Kenaf fiber has the potential to replace synthetic fiber in thermoplastic composite as it is particularly environmentally friendly and far cheaper than synthetic fiber. The purpose for this research is to study the effect of rubber seed shell microparticle addition on polypropylene/kenaf composite. Kenaf fiber was mixed with polypropylene (PP) in addition of rubber seed shell powder (RSSP) as filler and maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAgPP) as coupling agent. The composite is made up of 70% PP and 30% kenaf fiber. The varied parameter is the amount of the added RSSP i.e., 0, 3, 5 and 10 phc. The size of the RSSP used in this study is 45μm except for 5 phc RSSP, in which two different sizes are used (45μm and 90μm) in order to investigate the effect of size. The mixture was compounded with plastic mixer and molded by compression molding. Several tests were done to analyze the physical and mechanical properties of samples such as water absorption test, tensile test, flexural test and impact test. The data obtained from these test will be supported by morphological analysis by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). From the results obtained, it can be concluded that RSSP addition, as well as process parameter influence the properties of the composite. RSSP addition certainly improve the properties of the composite. In particular, composite added with 90μm RSSP give better results compared to 45μm except for flexural strength.

Actions (login required)

View Item