Comparison of performances of corn fiber plastic composites made from different parts of corn stalk

Lignocellulosic fiber, as a reinforcing phase, significantly altered the mechanical properties of wood plastic composites (WPC). In this paper, the effects of the different parts of the corn stalk, i.e., the stem, ear, husk, cob and leaf, on the manufacture of corn fiber plastic composites (CFPC) were evaluated. Besides, the mechanical properties of the CFPC were affected by the composition in terms of the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin fractions, which was also explored herein. Our data showed that hemicellulose and lignin have significant effects on all properties of CFPC. Typically, a high cellulose and lignin content improved the mechanical properties of the CFPC. The results indicated that when using the corn stem, with the highest cellulose content, as the reinforcement, the highest flexural strength (46.10 MPa) and tensile break strength (26.58 MPa) were achieved. However, the content of hemicellulose should be lower, which was correlated with the water resistance. Due to the high hemicellulose content in the corn leaf, the leaf-reinforced CFPC showed the poorest performance, with a flexural strength of 28.70 MPa and a tensile break strength of 15.98 MPa. Taken together, the results showed that the stem or cob was the more suitable corn fiber for the preparation of CFPC. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.