RECYCLING OF ARECA FIBERS REINFORCED CHEMICALLY FUNCTIONALIZED HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE COMPOSITES

Abstract

Areca fibre (AF) reinforced chemically functionalized high-density polyethylene (CF-HDPE) composites (AF/CF-HDPE) composites have been recycled by extrusion followed by injection molding and the recycled composites, the R-(AF/CF-HDPE) are compared with the original. The composites have been recycled one time, to verify the retainment of AF fibre/CF-HDPE matrix adhesion in the recycled composites, and the FE-SEM morphology and FTIR experiments confirm that this AF fibre/CF-HDPE matrix adhesion has been retained in the recycled composites. The experiments demonstrated that after recycling, the recycled composites, the R-(AF/CF-HDPE) composites showed lower tensile strength but higher tensile modulus than the original composites, but showed higher tensile strength and higher tensile modulus than the recycled R-(CF-HDPE). The recycled composites also have some potential for a few applications.