Potential in the Development of Borneo Acacia Wood Reinforced Polyhydroxyalkanoates Bio-Composites

E-ISSN： 1662-9795|2018|779|19-24

ISSN： 1013-9826

Source： Key Engineering Materials, Vol.2018, Iss.779, 2018-10, pp. : 19-24

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

This research focuses on the mechanical and morphological properties of acacia wood (AW) reinforced polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) bio-composites. Acacia woods waste in the form of sawdust was processed into short wood fiber, which was later mixed with pure PHA with different fiber loading (5wt%, 10wt%, 15wt% and 20wt%). The acacia wood fibers were chemically modified by using the naturalization technique (which used both acidic and alkaline base) using acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate. The hot press machine was used to fabricate the samples. Tensile and flexural samples were fabricated and tested according to the ASTM standards. The SEM images show that the chemically modified acacia wood reinforced PHA (M-AW-PHA) bio-composites create desirable adhesion which contributed to better mechanical strength at 15wt%, when compared with untreated acacia wood reinforced PHA (U-AW-PHA) bio-composites.