TY - JOUR
T1 - Banana fiber/low-density polyethylene recycled composites for third world eco-friendly construction applications - Waste for life project Sri Lanka
AU - Bolduc, Sean
AU - Jung, Kyungmin
AU - Venkata, Pramathanath
AU - Ashokcline, Mascareneous
AU - Jayasinghe, Randika
AU - Baillie, Caroline
AU - Lessard, Larry
PY - 2018/11/1
Y1 - 2018/11/1
N2 - In the framework of the waste for life Sri Lanka project, low value industrial low-density polyethylene waste plastics and banana fibers made from agricultural waste are upcycled into affordable eco-friendly building products. This creates income for the local communities while mitigating waste disposal and reducing ecological problems. Within this context, a robust manufacturing method using compression molding was developed. Panels with varying fiber content were manufactured using unchopped and chopped fibers. Low-density polyethylene characterization using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry to compare plastic sources was conducted. To reduce cost, no fiber treatments or compatibilizers were used. An estimate of critical fiber length was found to be around 1.45 cm to 2.5 cm. A trend of increasing strength with fiber content (up to 40 wt.%) was achieved by using longer fibers than in the previous research. Handling and dispersion of the fibers were increased by chopping the fibers to 20 cm lengths, which led to an increase in tensile strength due to easier manufacturing. Cross-ply panels made with fibers chopped to a length of 20 cm were found to be strongest peaking at around 40 wt.% with a tensile strength of 32.8 MPa, a fourfold increase compared to a raw low-density polyethylene (0 wt.%) panel.
AB - In the framework of the waste for life Sri Lanka project, low value industrial low-density polyethylene waste plastics and banana fibers made from agricultural waste are upcycled into affordable eco-friendly building products. This creates income for the local communities while mitigating waste disposal and reducing ecological problems. Within this context, a robust manufacturing method using compression molding was developed. Panels with varying fiber content were manufactured using unchopped and chopped fibers. Low-density polyethylene characterization using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry to compare plastic sources was conducted. To reduce cost, no fiber treatments or compatibilizers were used. An estimate of critical fiber length was found to be around 1.45 cm to 2.5 cm. A trend of increasing strength with fiber content (up to 40 wt.%) was achieved by using longer fibers than in the previous research. Handling and dispersion of the fibers were increased by chopping the fibers to 20 cm lengths, which led to an increase in tensile strength due to easier manufacturing. Cross-ply panels made with fibers chopped to a length of 20 cm were found to be strongest peaking at around 40 wt.% with a tensile strength of 32.8 MPa, a fourfold increase compared to a raw low-density polyethylene (0 wt.%) panel.
KW - Low-density polyethylene
KW - banana fiber
KW - waste for life
KW - natural fiber composite
KW - mechanical properties
KW - recycled waste composite
KW - PERFORMANCE
U2 - 10.1177/0731684418791756
DO - 10.1177/0731684418791756
M3 - Article
SN - 0731-6844
VL - 37
SP - 1322
EP - 1331
JO - Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites
JF - Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites
IS - 21
ER -