Effect of polypropylene, ethylene vinyl acetate and polyamide-6 on properties of recycled polypropylene/empty fruit bunch composites

Abstract

In this study, recycled polypropylene/empty fruit bunch (rPP/EFB) composites were produced by melt blending technique. Further, varying content of polypropylene (PP), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and polyamide-6 (PA6) was incorporated to rPP/EFB composites. The effect of varying contents of PP, EVA and PA6 on the mechanical and thermal properties of the recycled rPP/EFB composites was studied. The morphology of the prepared composites were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was found that the mechanical properties improved when PP and PA6 were incorporated in the rPP/EFB composite. The mechanical results were supported by SEM study. The Differential Scanning Calorimetry results revealed improvements in the melting temperature of rPP/EFB/EVA and rPP/EFB/PA6 composites. Further, incorporation of various polymers also improved the thermal stability of the composites, as shown by the thermogravimetric analysis. The rPP/EFB/PP composite exhibited the best mechanical properties and rPP/EFB/EVA composite exhibited better thermal properties. Whereas, rPP/EFB/PA6 composite showed improvement in both thermal and mechanical properties.