Morphology and Properties of Agarwood-waste-filled Natural Rubber Latex Foam

Agarwood (Aquilaria crassna) (ACVV) waste is widely available as a by-product of agarwood essential oil production. In this study, ACW waste was ball milled into ACW powder (passed through 120 mesh) and used as filler in natural rubber latex foam (NRLF) prepared by the Dunlop method. The effects of the ACW filler on cell morphology and properties of the NRLF were determined. It was found that the ACW filler loading affected cell morphology of the NRLF. The cell size of the ACW-filled NRLF increased with ACW loadings of 1.5 parts per hundred parts of latex (phr) and 2.5 phr, compared with that of control NRLF. A bimodal cell size distribution (with large and small cells) was dominant in the ACW-filled NRLF at loadings of 3.5 phr, 4.5 phr, 5.5 phr, and 6.5 phr. The cell walls also became thicker, causing inferior compression set behavior. In addition, the density and hardness of the ACW-filled NRLF increased with ACW filler loading.

Automated summary

The study found that agarwood waste used as filler significantly affected the cell morphology and properties of natural rubber latex foam. As the loading of agarwood filler increased, cell size increased and a bimodal cell size distribution was observed, along with thicker cell walls resulting in inferior compression set behavior. Additionally, density and hardness of the foam increased with agarwood filler loading.