Studies of jute fiber and jute cellulose reinforced polyethylene with maleic Anhydride, Nanoclay and Silica biocomposites.

Md. Mizanur, Rahman (2015) Studies of jute fiber and jute cellulose reinforced polyethylene with maleic Anhydride, Nanoclay and Silica biocomposites. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

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Abstract

Jute fiber was investigated as a reinforcing filler material for producing structural composites with better environmental performance. Silica and nanoclay act as reinforcing agents in the composite system. The effects of nanoclay and silica addition on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of jute fiber-reinforced polyethylene (PE) bio composites with different fiber loadings (5, 10, 15, and 20 wt. %) were investigated. It was observed that both the tensile strengths and Young's modulus increased constantly up to 15 % fiber loadings and then decreased for all composites with higher fiber loading. The composition at 15 wt. % fiber loadings was taken to be the optimized ratio. The strong interfacial bonding between fiber and matrix, when the maleic anhydride, nanoclay, and silica were added in the composites system was reflected in the enhancement of the mechanical properties as well as thermal stability. The tensile strength and Young's modulus have shown the highest values as well as higher activation energy for thermal decomposition. The surface area analysis shows that the silica added to the jute fiber/PE composites system, yield a higher specific surface area and pore volume with less pore size. However, the silica induce composite had higher mechanical, thermal and morphological properties among the composites system.

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