<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Green plastics are constantly being used to minimize the negative impacts of the polymers made of fossil fuels such as petroleum. Non-renewable petroleum-based products are employed in wide range of human activities, yet plastic waste accumulation represents a serious issue for the environment (Mohd Rafee et al., 2019). On the other hand, the use of natural fibres in composite materials, such as sisal fibres, in substitution for synthetic fibres, has increased considerably. The aim of this study was to develop a low-cost manufacturing process of composites with reuse of polyethylene bags made of sugarcane ethanol (green polyethylene) reinforced with sisal fibres. The hot compression moulding (185 °C) was used to mould composite structural board. Tensile tests were conducted to evaluate the influence of the reinforcement configuration on the mechanical properties of the composites, considering two arrangements: woven fibres in (0°/90°) and randomly arranged. The results indicated that the use of woven sisal fibres in (0°/90°) as reinforcement of the green HDPE showed an increase in the tensile strength (33.30%) in contrast to the pure traditional HDPE. Randomly arranged sisal fibre-reinforced green HDPE composites showed higher modulus of elasticity than pure traditional HDPE (76.83%). Composites with woven sisal fibres showed higher values for tensile strength and ultimate strain, and lower modulus of elasticity than composites with randomly arranged sisal fibres. In addition, failure modes of the composites were observed. The results showed the viability of producing these composites by the developed equipment and the potential use of these materials as structural components.</p></abstract>

Green plastics are constantly being used to minimize the negative impacts of the polymers made of fossil fuels such as petroleum. Non-renewable petroleum-based products are employed in wide range of human activities, yet plastic waste accumulation represents a serious issue for the environment (Mohd Rafee et al., 2019). On the other hand, the use of natural fibres in composite materials, such as sisal fibres, in substitution for synthetic fibres, has increased considerably. The aim of this study was to develop a low-cost manufacturing process of composites with reuse of polyethylene bags made of sugarcane ethanol (green polyethylene) reinforced with sisal fibres. The hot compression moulding (185 °C) was used to mould composite structural board. Tensile tests were conducted to evaluate the influence of the reinforcement configuration on the mechanical properties of the composites, considering two arrangements: woven fibres in (0°/90°) and randomly arranged. The results indicated that the use of woven sisal fibres in (0°/90°) as reinforcement of the green HDPE showed an increase in the tensile strength (33.30%) in contrast to the pure traditional HDPE. Randomly arranged sisal fibre-reinforced green HDPE composites showed higher modulus of elasticity than pure traditional HDPE (76.83%). Composites with woven sisal fibres showed higher values for tensile strength and ultimate strain, and lower modulus of elasticity than composites with randomly arranged sisal fibres. In addition, failure modes of the composites were observed. The results showed the viability of producing these composites by the developed equipment and the potential use of these materials as structural components.

Recycled Green PE Composites Reinforced with Woven and Randomly Arranged Sisal Fibres Processed by Hot Compression Moulding

Acta Technologica Agriculturae

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Green plastics are constantly being used to minimize the negative impacts of the polymers made of fossil fuels such as petroleum. Non-renewable petroleum-based...

Recycled Green PE Composites Reinforced with Woven and Randomly Arranged Sisal Fibres Processed by Hot Compression Moulding

Published Online: Jun 05, 2020

Page range: 81 - 86

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ata-2020-0013

Keywords
sustainability, biopolymers, waste plastic, natural fibre

© 2020 Bruno Dorneles De Castro et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Recycled Green PE Composites Reinforced with Woven and Randomly Arranged Sisal Fibres Processed by Hot Compression Moulding

Published Online: Jun 05, 2020

Page range: 81 - 86

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ata-2020-0013

Keywordssustainability, biopolymers, waste plastic, natural fibre

© 2020 Bruno Dorneles De Castro et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
sustainability, biopolymers, waste plastic, natural fibre