Development of banana fiber reinforced composites from plastic waste

The current research work focus on the Banana Fiber-reinforced virgin and recycled High-Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) composites fabricated using the extrusion injection molding process. The composites incorporating 20 wt% of banana fiber were fabricated. The mechanical characteristics of the developed composites were evaluated in terms of tensile and flexural properties. The investigation shows a reduction in the tensile strength and an improvement in the tensile modulus of the developed composites as compared to the virgin and recycled polymers. Moreover, the flexural strength and flexural modulus reported an increment as compared to both the neat polymers. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that banana-based composites have less thermal stability as compared to both neat polymers. ? 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Materials, Processing & Characterization.

Automated summary

The research focuses on banana fiber-reinforced HDPE composites fabricated using extrusion injection molding process, evaluating their mechanical properties. The study found that banana fiber can improve some properties of the composites, but with slightly less thermal stability compared to neat polymers.