The production methods and materials ratio effect on the mechanical and physical properties of bamboo-plastic waste composites use for infrastructure development

Abstract

Abstract: Plastic waste management has become a major concern environmentally across the globe, especially in developing countries. Plastic waste is synthetic and non-degradable material. However, it has great economic importance when recycle and used with other environmentallyfriendly materials to produce composites for structural engineering works. The production and application of this product will minimise the environmental problems of plastic waste. The usage of this composite material globally, will help reduce the high dependency on the limited forest timbers of soft and hardwoods. Bamboo fibre and plastic waste can be used to produce this composite which will be used for all load carrying elements. Bamboo fibre as reinforcement in polymers is on the increase because is biodegradable and environmentally friendly. This study looks at the effects of the production methods and the materials ratio effect on the mechanical and the physical properties of bamboo fibre and plastic waste composites boards. The fibres were extracted by mechanical method, whilst the wastes plastics are clean, dried and shredded before melting to mix with the fibres. The molten plastics wastes were poured into moulds mixed with fibres and then allowed to cool completely, after removed from the case of open casting. In compression moulding, the mould charge was pressed using the mould cover. Water absorption, bending strength, impact strength and thickness swelling were carried according to standard measures. The fibre content and production method influenced the mechanical and physical properties of the composites. Higher fibre content in the composite resulted in higher water absorption and thickness swelling. It was observed that water absorption was significantly influenced by the fibre content at α = 0.05. The hydrophilic nature of the fibres has increased water absorption and thickness swelling significantly leading to dimensional instability of the composites. Moulded composites showed better physical properties than open casting method, possibly due to reduced void space during polymerization. These tests suggested that reducing void space and incorporating fibres into the plastic improves the end use properties. These findings could be used to develop alternative materials for construction and manufacturing industries where load bearing is required