Influence of hydrophobic and hydrophilic mineral fillers on processing, tensile and impact properties of LDPE/KCF biocomposites

In this research, low-cost thermoplastic such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was used as a matrix for preparation of the biocomposites. On the other hand, kenaf core fibre (KCF) has been chosen as natural filler due to its availability and renewability. The hydrophobic (talc) and hydrophilic (calcium carbonate) minerals with different loading (0 to 15 wt%) were utilised as secondary fillers. The biocomposites were prepared via melt mixing technique. The processing, tensile and impact properties of the prepared biocomposites were recorded, measured and compared. From the processing recorder results, it was found that the stabilization torque of the LDPE/KCF biocomposites containing talc is lower than calcium carbonate. For the tensile test results, it can be observed that the tensile strength and tensile modulus of the biocomposites incorporated with talc are greater than calcium carbonate. On top of that, the biocomposites containing talc have low impact strength compared to calcium carbonate. It could be concluded that the LDPE/KCF biocomposites with the incorporation of hydrophobic mineral possessed stiff character, whereas the incorporation of hydrophilic mineral provided tough behaviour to the biocomposites.