Fabrication of ecofriendly composites using low-density polyethylene and sugarcane bagasse: Characteristics’ degradation

Abstract

In recent years, research into replacing synthetic fibers with natural fibers as reinforcements in thermoplastic composites has developed rapidly. The main objective of this work is to produce eco-friendly and cost-effective composite material. This material consists of natural fiber of sugarcane bagasse as the reinforcing component and thermoplastic polymer of low-density polyethylene as a matrix. The injection molding technique was used to produce the test samples. The fabricated composite contained 30 wt.% sugarcane bagasse. The effects of natural fiber sugarcane bagasse content, chemical treatment, and the addition of maleic anhydride as coupling agent on the composite degradation were studied. The degradation of sugarcane bagasse/low-density polyethylene composite under ultraviolet radiation and the thermal degradation were investigated. In addition, the amount of absorbance ultraviolet radiation by the fabricated composites was studied using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy in the range from 200–800 nm. The effect of carbon black particles added to the fabricated composite on the degradation by ultraviolet exposure was also investigated. The results showed that the compatibilized sugarcane bagasse/low-density polyethylene composites at 3 wt.% maleic anhydride concentration revealed a higher decomposition temperature (466°C) than that of the uncompatibilized composites (460°C). This ensures that the thermal degradation temperature was improved by using the maleic anhydride coupling agent. Moreover, using the coupling agent showed significant resistance to degradation by ultraviolet exposure. Furthermore, the addition of 2.5 wt.% carbon black enabled more resistance to degradation by ultraviolet exposure.