Reprocessing of wood fibre reinforced polypropylene composites. Part I: Effects on physical and mechanical properties

This paper describes the effects of reprocessing on the physical and mechanical properties of composites based on radiata pine (Pinus radiata) fibre in a polypropylene (PP) matrix. Composites, containing either 40 wt% or 50 wt% fibre with 4 wt% maleated polypropylene (MAPP) as a coupling agent, were reprocessed up to eight times. For composites with 40 wt% fibre, tensile strength (TS) and Young’s modulus (YM) were found to decrease with increased reprocessing by up to 25% for TS and 17% for YM (after reprocessed eight times). Flexural tests were also carried out for 40 wt% fibre composites and flexural strength and modulus were found to decrease with increased reprocessing. Although, TS was lower for virgin composites with 50 wt% fibre than for those with 40 wt% fibre, this initially increased with reprocessing by up to 14% (after reprocessed two times), but then decreased with further reprocessing, and an overall 11% reduction of TS was found after reprocessing eight times compared to the virgin composites. YM was higher for virgin composites with 50 wt% than those with for 40 wt% fibre and also initially increased with reprocessing but decreased upon further reprocessing. Reprocessing was found to increase thermal stability. The TS of composites made by combining reprocessed with virgin materials was also assessed.