Biodegradation studies of polypropylene/natural fiber composites

Abstract

Polypropylene composites were prepared using natural fibers such as pigeon pea stalk fibers and banana peel. Aerobic biodegradation studies in compost have been carried out as per ASTM with composites prepared where cellulose and polypropylene has been taken as positive and negative reference respectively. Various analytical tools like SEM, TGA, XRD, DSC and Color have been used to study the change after biodegradation in composites. Highest fiber loaded composites i.e. 40 wt% depicted highest biodegradation in comparison to 10 and 20 wt% loading of untreated fiber in polypropylene. In comparison to untreated fiber composites, maximum biodegradation was observed in treated fiber composites with same amount of the fiber loading.