Abstract
The aim of this research was to produce wood like material from land-fill material such as olive husk powder (OHR) and polymer matrix such as polyamide-12. For this purpose the land-fill material was subject to two types of chemical treatments: a) coated with toulene-2–4-diisocyanate (TDI) b) mercerized in sodium hydroxide solution followed by neutralization in acetic acid. The composites were fabricated from PA-12 and the land-fill material (OHR) at 30% by weight filler by melt mixing technique at 180 °C and 50 rpm using Brabender internal mixer. The composites were inspected with respect to their thermal properties using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The possible interactions between the amide groups of PA-12 and the hydroxyl groups of the OHR in the presence and absence of TDI was inspected using attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR). The water resistance of the composites was evaluated by measuring the percentage weight and thickness gain of the composites as well as the water diffusion coefficient for the PA-12 with and without treated filler. The impact resistance of the composites was studied as a function of filler type. The bonding quality as well as the dispersion state of the chemically treated OHR within the PA-12 matrix was inspected by scanning electron microscope (SEM).
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