The Effects of Nanoclay on the Extrusion Foaming of Wood Fiber/Polyethylene Nanocomposites

This article presents the foaming behaviors of wood fiber/high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites with small amounts of nanoclay. Melt compounding is used to prepare two types of clay-filled wood fiber composites: intercalated and exfoliated clay composites. Their respective morphologies are determined using wide-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We subsequently conduct an extrusion foaming experiment of the composites using N(2) as the blowing agent. Varying the wood fiber content, as well as the processing parameters, such as temperature and pressure, the effects of different amounts of clay and the degree of exfoliation on the final cell morphology and the foam density of the wood fiber/HDPE/clay nanocomposite foams are studied. The results suggested that the addition of nanoclay improved the cell morphology of the wood fiber/HDPE composite foams as its content and degree of dispersion increased. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 51:1014-1022, 2011. (C) 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers