Tensile and morphological studies of polypropylene/empty fruit bunch composite: Effect of maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene

Abstract

The effect of maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (PPMAH) as compatibilizer on the tensileand morphological properties of polypropylene (PP)/empty fruit bunch (EFB) composite were investigated. The composite was melt mixed using a heated two roll mill at 180 °C with speed of 15 rpm for seven different EFB filler loadings (70/30, 75/25, 80/20, 85/15, 90/20, 95/5 and 100/0 wt%). From the analysis, tensile strength and elongation at break decreased with increasing EFB filler loading. However, it is interesting to observe that the addition of PPMAH has resulted in5 to 10 % better tensile strengthcompareto without PPMAHcompatibilizer. The morphological studies from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of tensile fracture surfaces showed thatPPMAH compatibilizercomposites also indicates improved dispersion and adhesion of EFB fibre on the PP matrix.