Effects of Bamboo-Corn Husk as Fillers on the Mechanical Properties in Polypropylene

Abstract

The mechanical properties of polypropylene composites of bamboo-cornhusk at 50:50 ratio were prepared at filler contents of; 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%. The particle size of the bamboo-cornhusk dust investigated was 150µm, Polypropylene composites of varying weight percentages of fillers in fixed weight of the polymer resin were produced for each filler type by the injection molding technique. From the mechanical properties determination, the composites showed an increase in the compressive and flexural strengths. The surface hardness and tensile strength showed irregular trends having its highest value at composition of 40% with values of 5.92 and 20.0096Mpa respectively. Thus, it was found that the mechanical properties depend on the polymer matrix-filler interaction, particle size, fiber population and distribution of the filler particles within the matrix. These results suggest that bamboo-cornhusk filler can be incorporated into polypropylene and be expected to improve its mechanical properties. Synthetic fillers which are made from petroleum are non-biodegradable and litter the environment, but these natural fibers are cellulosic, they can decompose and degrade thereby helping to relieve the environment from the threat that plastic pollution poses.