Bio-based composites from waste agricultural residues

The main objective of this research was to study the potential of waste agricultural residues such as sunflower stalk, corn stalk and bagasse fibers as reinforcement for thermoplastics as an alternative to wood fibers. The effects of two grades (Eastman G-3003 and G-3216) of coupling agents on the mechanical properties were also studied. In the sample preparation, one level of fiber loading (30 wt.%) and three levels of coupling agent content (0, 1.5 and 2,5 wt.%) were used. For overall trend, with addition of both grades of the coupling agents, tensile, flexural and impact properties of the composites significantly improved, as compared with untreated samples. In addition, morphological study revealed that the positive effect of coupling agent on interfacial bonding. The composites treated with G-3216 gave better results in comparison with G-3003. This could be caused by the high melt viscosity of G-3003. In general, bagasse fiber showed superior mechanical properties due to its chemical characteristics. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.