Mechanical and morphological studies of poly(propylene)-filled eggshell composites

Poly(propylene) (PP) composites were prepared by using eggshell (ES) as filler and their mechanical properties were compared with those using talc (TA) and calcium carbonate (CC) of different grain sizes (X-50). A decrease in impact strength and deformation at break with increase in filler content was observed. The PP composite with ES (X-50 = 8.4 mu m) was stiffer than those with CC (X-50 = 0.7 mu m). The hybrid composite PP-ES-TA showed a similar stiffness as the PP-TA composites due to the similar morphology of TA (X-50 = 0.5 mu m) and ES, when TA was replaced up to 75 wt.-% by ES. SEM study revealed evidence of improved interfacial bonding between PP and ES in theirs composites.