The effects of ink presence on mechanical, physical, morphological and thermal properties of office and newspaper fiber-polypropylene composites

In this study the effects of ink (offset and toner) presence on the mechanical, physical, morphological and thermal properties of newspaper- and office paper fiber-plastic composites were investigated. Printed and unprinted newspaper and office paper fibers were mixed with recycled polypropylene at 50 % by weight fiber loading. The samples were produced with extrusion and compression moulding. The mechanical properties, water absorption and thermal resistances of unprinted and printed newspaper- and office paper fiber-polypropylene composites were compared. In addition, samples were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The obtained results showed that ink presence in the fiber matrix enhanced the water resistance and mechanical properties of fiber plastic composites. Due to ink formulation and fiber characteristics, better results were obtained with printed office paper fiberplastic composites than with printed newspaper fiber-plastic composites. Scanning electron microscopy investigation also confirmed the good interaction between polypropylene and toner-printed office paper fiber. Moreover, differential scanning calorimetry measurements showed that higher crystallization (χcor) values on printed office paper- and newspaper fiber-plastic composites. This work demonstrated that undeinked waste paper fibers could be effectively used as the reinforcing filler in thermoplastic matrice

Surface properties and hardness of polypropylene composites filled with sunflower stalk flour

The effects of agricultural flour content on surface roughness, wettability, and surface hardness of injection molded polypropylene (PP) composites was investigated. Four content levels of the waste sunflower stalk flour (WSF) were mixed with the PP with and without maleic anhydride grafted PP (MAPP) as a coupling agent. Contact angle measurements were performed using a goniometer connected with a digital camera. Three roughness parameters, average roughness (Ra), mean peak-to-valley height (Rz), and maximum roughness (Rmax), were used to evaluate surface roughness. The surface roughness increased with increasing WSF content while their wettability decreased. The unfilled (neat) PP composites had the lowest surface roughness, while the roughest surface was found for the PP composites filled with 60 wt% WSF. The surface smoothness of the composites was noticeably increased by addition of the compatibilizer MAPP while the wettability was decreased. The scratch hardness of the PP composites increased significantly with increasing WSF. The incorporation of the coupling agent increased the scratch hardness of the specimens. The Brinell hardness increased with increasing filler loading. At similar filler loading the composites with MAPP had lower Brinell hardness value than those without MAPP

Böcek tahribatına uğramış göknar odunlarının odun plastik kompozit üretiminde kullanılabilirliğinin araştırılması

The production of wood plastic composites (WPCs) in the thermoplastic industry has gained much acceptance in recent years and is expected to keep growing. This type of composite material has become an important family of engineering materials due to the increasing need for sustainable, recyclable and renewable materials. This study investigated the technical feasibility of insect-attacked Fir wood (Abies nordmanniana) to produce, durable Wood Plastic Composites by the Injection Molding. Despite many attempts have been done to solve the problems related to waste lignocellulosic materials, a few studies were done to utilize biological damaged-wood to produce WPCs as filler. Tensile, flexural and impact properties, thermal performance and morphology of WPCs were investigated. The use of coupling agent had a positive effect on the water absorption and mechanical properties. The obtained results demonstrate that insect-attacked Fir wood is potentially suitable as a raw material in WPCs.Son yıllarda termoplastik sektöründe OPK üretimi büyük ölçüde kabul görmekte ve hızla gelişmektedir. Sürdürülebilir, geri dönüştürülebilir ve yenilenebilir materyallere olan ihtiyacın artması ile bu tip kompozitler mühendislik ürün ailesi içerisinde önemli bir konuma geldiği söylenebilmektedir. Bu çalışmada böcek zararı görmüş Göknar odununun enjeksiyon metodu ile Odun Plastik Kompozit (OPK) üretiminde değerlendirilmesi araştırılmıştır. Atık lignoselülozik kaynakların OPK üretiminde değerlendirilmesi üzerine literatürde birçok çalışma yapılmasına rağmen biyolojik zararlılar tarafından tahrip edilen odunlar üzerine sınırlı sayıda çalışma bulunmaktadır. Üretilen OPK’lerin çekme, eğilme ve şok özellikleri, termal performansları ve morfolojik yapıları incelenmiştir. Üretim sürecinde uyumlaştırıcı ajan kullanılması OPK’lerin su alma ve mekanik özellikler iyileştirdiği belirlenmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre böcek zararı görmüş Göknar odunun OPK üretimi için uygun olduğu belirlenmiştir

Some mechanical properties of wood polypropylene composites filled with carpenter wastes

In this study, we evaluated some mechanical properties of polypropylene composites filled with carpenter waste flour (CWF). To meet this objective, The CWF was compounded with polypropylene with and without coupling agent in a twin screw co-rotating extruder and then were manufactured by injection molding process. The flexural and tensile modulus improved with increasing CWF content while the flexural and tensile strengths of the samples decreased. The use of maleic anhydride polypropylene had a positive effect on the mechanical properties of the polypropylene composites filled with CWF. This work showed that the compositestreated with maleated polypropylene could be efficiently used as decking products, due to satisfactory mechanicalproperties of the composites

Utilization of walnut shells as filler in polymer composites

In this study, the utilisability of Walnut Shell (WS) flour in polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix composites are investigated due to its relative hardness and availability. The WS flour was compounded with PP and HDPE at 50% (weight) content with and without coupling agent in a single screw extruder. Then, granulated compositions were manufactured by press moulding process. Some mechanical properties (Tensile, impact, flexural strength), TGA and DSC were performed on the polymer composites samples. When WS flour were added 3% coupling agent bending properties of the HDPE and PP samples increased to 1340 MPa and 1514 MPa, respectively. However, WS2 samples which HDPE composites type was added 3% coupling agent in the form showed 26% lower impact factor than WS1. The addition of coupling agents improved the properties of polymer composites. MAPE coupling agents performed better in HDPE while MAPP coupling agents were superior in PP based composites. According to mechanical properties of the composites groups, the lowest strength was in the WS3 which content 50% PP without couple agent. All produced composites provided mechanical properties required by the ASTM D662 standard for plastic lumber decking boards. The analysis showed that MAPE didn’t affect to thermal degradation of 47% WS filled HDPE composites samples. Melting temperature was around WS1 and WS2 130 °C while WS3 and WS4 around 165 °C. The second melting peak temperature of WS2 composites with 3% coupling agent was around 170 °C. As a result Walnut shell which was considered agricultural waste can be utilized in polymer composite production

Potential use of cotton dust as filler in the production of thermoplastic composites

The effect of cotton dust as filler on the mechanical and thermal properties of polypropylene composites was investigated and the results were compared with the properties of wood plastic composites. Cotton dust was obtained from the dust filtration system located in a textile manufacturing unit. Different mixtures of cotton dust (30 to 60 wt%) or wood flour (30 to 60 wt%) were compounded with polypropylene with a coupling agent (maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene 3 wt%) in a twin-screw co-rotating extruder. The test specimens were produced by injection molding machine. The tensile strength and flexural modulus of the specimens improved with the increase in the filler content. There was no significant difference in the strength and modulus values between the cotton dust and wood flour filled composites. The highest thermal stability was found to be in the composites produced with 40 wt% of cotton dust according to the results of differential scanning calorimetry analysis. Based on the findings obtained from the present study, the optimum mechanical and thermal properties for the filled polypropylene composites were found to be a 50/50/3 formulation of cotton dust, polypropylene, and maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene, respectively

Bioenergy in the Black Sea Basin Countries: Status, Prospects and Possibilities

In recent years, concern about global climate change and air quality has increased interest in bioenergy from renewable sources. Bioenergy has several environmental advantages over fossil fuel. Amongst renewable energy sources, the biggest contribution (63%) comes from biomass. Biomass represents the cheapest and most abundant feedstock available in large volume. Approximately 80 billion tons of biomass in forest is produced in the world annually. Within the scope of sustainable development, bioenergy usage becomes crucial also in Black Sea Basin Countries. In this paper, status, prospects and possibilities of bioenergy production and usage in the Black Sea Basin Countries were reviewed

Insect damaged wood as a source of reinforcing filler for thermoplastic composites

In this study, wood polymer composites were manufactured using insect damaged Eastern Black Sea Fir (A. Nordmanniana) wood as filler. The effects of wood type (sound vs insect damaged) and presence of coupling agent (0% vs 3%) on the flexural, tensile, impact, thermal and morphological properties of the wood polymer composites were investigated. The mechanical property values of the wood polymer composites specimens decreased when insect damaged wood was used as filler than sound wood, except for the impact strength values. Flexural, tensile and impact strength values, insect damaged wood filled with coupling agent composites provided higher values compared to sound wood filled without coupling agent composites. However, addition of maleic anhydride-graftedpolyethylene coupling agent into polymeric matrix improved both sound and insect damaged filled composite properties. Thermogravimetric analysis analysis showed two main decomposition peaks for polymer composites. Compared to unfilled high-density polyethylene, addition of both sound and insect damaged wood reduced decomposition peak but increased the residue due to the charring of the wood. The results of differential scanning calorimeter analysis showed that addition of sound or insect damaged wood in polymer matrix increase the crystallinity compared the unfilled high-density polyethylene due to the nucleating effect of the filler. Among the composite maleic anhydride-graftedpolyethylene modified composites provided higher crystallinity than unmodified ones

Some properties of wood plastic composites produced from waste cups

Odun Plastik Kompozit (OPK) üretimi geri dönüştürülebilir materyaller ve atık termoplastik materyallere ilgi her geçen gün artmaktadır. Bu çalışmada geri dönüştürülebilir atık kağıt bardaklar, polimer atıklar (Yüksek Yoğunluklu Polietilen (YYPE) ve Polipropilen (PP)) kullanılarak dört farklı formülasyonda OPK üretimi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Kullanılan farklı polimer ve uyum sağlayıcıların OPK’lerin bazı mekanik, fiziksel ve termal özellikleri üzerine etkileri incelenmiştir. OPK üretiminde atık kağıt bardak kullanımının fiziksel, mekanik ve termal analizler üzerinde olumsuz bir etkisinin olmadığı belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca atık kâğıt bardaklardan üretilen OPK’lerin uygun mekanik dirençlere sahip olduğu belirlenmiştir. Çalışmada dolgu maddesi olarak kullanılan geri dönüştürülebilir atık kâğıt bardaklardan potansiyel olarak OPK üretimlerinde faydalanılabileceği görülmüştürTo use of recycled and waste thermoplastics materials has been recently considered for producing wood plastic composites (WPCs). In this study, we use four different formulations on the disposable cups, recycled polymers (recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP)) to produce WPCs. The effect of different polymers and coupling agents used were determined on some physical, mechanical and thermal properties in WPCs samples. Use of waste paper cups for the production of WPCs, it was not determinet any negative affects on physical, mechanical and thermal analysis. Also it was determinet that WPCs as a produced from waste paper cups have the appropriate mechanical strength. This study suggested that using recycled waste paper cups as a filler can be potantially utilized in production of WPCs

Mechanical, thermal, morphological properties and decay resistance of filled hazelnut husk polymer composites

Four different formulations of natural fiber-polymer composites were fabricated from mixtures of hazelnut (Corylus avellana) husk flour (HHF), polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE).Variables examined included polymer and coupling agent types. All formulations were compression molded in a hot press for 3 minutes at 175 0C. The resulted specimens were tested for mechanical properties according to ASTM D-790 and ASTM D-638. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetry (TG) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis were performed to characterize rheological properties of the fabricated composite. Furthermore, decay tests were performed to determine degradation of hazelnut husk polymer matrices. Hazelnut husk polymer composites had high mechanical properties for the tested formulations. The thermal studies showed that incorporation ofhazelnut husk into the polymer matrices used did not adversely affect the composite. The HDPE+50% wood + 3% MAPE (HHF2) formulation showed the highest natural durability with only 3,47% and 4,60% mass losses against Trametes versicolor and Postia plecenta, respectively, while Scots pine solid controls experienced around 32% mass loss under the same exposure condition