Hygrothermal aging properties of wood plastic composites made of recycled high density polypropylene as affected by inorganic pigments

The objective of this study is to investigate the hygrothermal aging properties of wood plastic composites (WPCs) made of a recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) highly filled with wood waste, inorganic filler and pigments with a resin/filler ratio of 27/73. Hygrothermal ageing test of the prepared WPCs with three different colors (original, red, and chocolate) was carried out by immersing specimens in distilled water at 45 degrees C for 70 days. The hygrothermal ageing properties including water absorption, moisture diffusion coefficient, surface color change, and flexural properties of the WPCs were investigated. It was found that pigment colored WPCs have better hygrothermal aging properties including lower water absorption, less total color changes, and higher mechanical property retention rate after 70 days hygrothermal aging test. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:2127-2132, 2015. (c) 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers