Mechanical performance of composites based on wastes of polyethylene aluminum and lignocellulosics

This study investigated the feasibility of lignocellulosic wastes as filler in the polyethylene aluminum (PEAL) composites obtained from recycling of postconsumer aseptic packaging by evaluating the mechanical properties of the composites. The injection-molded composites were prepared from the lignocellulosic waste flour and PEAL with and without 3 wt.% maleic anhydride-grafted polyethylene at 40, 50, and 60 wt.% contents of sawdust or rice husk flour. The sawdust flour filled PEAL composites had better flexural and tensile properties than the rice husk flour filled PEAL composites. The strength and modulus values of the filled composites were significantly higher than the unfilled composites. With the incorporation of 60 wt.% sawdust and rice husk flour into the PEAL composites, the values of flexural modulus increased by 444% and 315%, respectively. Similar results were also observed for the tensile modulus. The tensile elongation at break values declined sharply with the addition of the filler. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.