Abstract
We demonstrated the formulation of wood plastic composite (WPC) materials with flexural strength of 13.69 ± 0.09 MPa for applications in outdoor fencing using municipal waste precursors like low density polyethylene (LDPE) plastics (54.0 wt. %), sawn wood dust with particle size between 64 and 500 μm derived from variable hardwood species (36.0 wt. %) and used automotive engine oil (10 wt. %). The WPC panels were prepared by pre-compounding, extruding at a screw auger torque of 79.8 Nm and pressing through a rectangular mould of dimension 132 mm Ã 37 mm Ã 5 mm at temperature 150 °C. The efficacy of black waste oil, as a coupling agent, was demonstrated by the absence of voids and pull-outs on microscopic examination using scanning electron microscopy. No hazardous substances were exhaled during thermo-gravimetric mass spectrometry analysis. The percentage crystallinity of the LDPE in the as-prepared material determined by differential scanning calorimetry was 11.3%. Keywords: Wood plastic composites, Low density polyethylene, Wood dust, Physical, Thermal and mechanical properties
Citation
ID:
17447
Ref Key:
animpong2017couplingsouth