Comparison of the usage of nut shell, walnut shell, and pistachio shell as a reinforcement particle on the mechanical and wear performance of polypropylene

Abstract

In this study, the usability of nutshell, pistachio, and walnut shell wastes as reinforcement materials in industrial applications and their comparisons with each other was examined. For this purpose, composite samples with a polypropylene (PP) matrix were produced and their mechanical and tribological characterizations were performed. As a result of the tensile tests, both the tensile strength and elastic modulus values of all composite specimens are higher than those of pure PP. On the other hand, the value of elongation at break is lower. The sliding wear resistance increases with increasing reinforcement with walnut and pistachio shell reinforcement, whereas the positive effect becomes negative when the nutshell reinforcement is over 3 wt%. All three types of reinforcement positively affected the scratch resistance. Pistachio shell reinforcement gives the best result. It has been determined that the relative cutting volume value of the samples increases with the reinforcement rate and the wear behavior changes from ductile to brittle. In light of these results, it has been seen that nut, pistachio, and walnut shells could be used as reinforcement materials in industrial applications instead of being waste or fuel.