M. Tazi¹, F. Erchiqui^1,*, F.Godard¹, H. Kaddami²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.4, pp. 258-263, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634120

Abstract This article evaluates the mechanical properties and biodegradability of wood-plastic composite materials made from sawdust and thermoplastic polymer (HDPE). For the preparation of the composites, sawdust in different proportions with Maleic Anhydride grafted Polyethylene (MAPE) as the coupling agent was used. The mechanical properties and biodegradability of the biocomposites were successively characterized. The results indicate that adding sawdust particles to a polymer matrix improves the mechanical strength and stiffness of composites. The tensile strength of a composite with 3% coupling agent was improved by 13%, 34% and 54% respectively when 20%, 30% and 40% wood fi llers were added to… More >

Haiyang Zhou^1,2, Xiaoyu Wang³, Xiaolong Hao^1,2, Qingwen Wang^1,2,*, Rongxian Ou^1,2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.5, pp. 485-498, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.010263

Abstract The mechanical properties of wood flour/high-density polyethylene composites (WPC) were improved by adding a small amount of nano-SiO₂ to obtain a network-structured WPC with a continuous honeycomb-like nano-SiO₂ network. The wood flour was modified with a fire retardant (a mixture of sodium octabonate and amidine urea phosphate) to improve its fire retardancy. The flexural properties, creep resistance, thermal expansion, and fire retardancy of the WPC were compared to a control (WPC_CTRL) without nano-SiO₂ or fire retardant. The flexural strength and modulus of the WPC containing only 0.55 wt.% nano-SiO₂ were 6.6% and 9.1% higher than the control, respectively, while the… More >