Wood Plastic Composite from HDPE and Rice Straw using a new Coupling Agent

Mohamed H. El Nemr1; Yehia M.S. El Shazly2,*; Achraf A. Mobarak2, Mohamed H. Zaki2

1 Sidi Kreir Petrochemicals Company; Alexandria; Egypt
2 Alexandria University Faculty of Engineering- Chemical Engineering Department Alexandria 21544 Egypt
* yehia.elshazly@alexu.edu.eg; yehiaelshazly@hotmail.com.
Introduction

Materials

Egypt rely on importing its limber needs from abroad.

Meanwhile, presence of large quantities of unused
agricultural residue does not present only an economic
loss but also an environmental hazard: for example the
growth of rice results in the production of ~4-4.5 M
T/y of rice straw. Farmers tend to burn the straw inland
resulting in the generation of seasonal smog which
became known as the Black Cloud.

Rice straw was washed, dried and milled to pass

through 20 mesh screen. The particle size distribution
is shown in figure 2.

The basic principle of this research is the production of

Wood Plastic Composite (WPC) from the mixture of
RS and high density polyethylene (HDPE). The HDPE
is produced in Egypt by Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Co.
(Sidpec) with a yearly capacity of 225,000 T of HDPE
and LLDPE.
The main outcome of this research is the production of
WPC that can replace partially wood. WPC produced
will have almost same colour to the wood, with
immunity to fungal and thermite attacks. Also less
water absorption and ease of processing into final
shape than wood are counted on. Addition of UV
stabilizers is also possible to enhance the resistance to
sunlight in the outdoors.
The enhancement of the coupling between the polar
cellulosic based straw and the non-polar PE is usually
done by the addition of the Maleated Polyethylene
(MAPE). In this study, a new coupling or
compatibilizer is tested; the Polyethylene Wax (PE
Wax) is used instead of the MAPE. PE Wax is a byproduct of Sidpec from the pre-polymerization step.
The absorption peak at 1638 cm-1 in Infrared spectrum
revealed the presence of C=O in the PE Wax(figure 1)
which suggest that it can play this role.

Figure 2 Particle size distribution of rice straw after milling.

TGA analysis of the rice straw indicated it starts to

degrade ~188 oC. HDPE and PE Wax were obtained
from Sidpec. The HDPE had a density 952 kg/m3, melt
index 26 g/10min and melting temperature 126 oC. PE
Wax had a density of 900 kg/m3
and melting
temperature of 99.7oC. TGA analysis indicated that the
degradation of PE Wax starts at 205 oC.
Sample Preparation
The HDPE was firstly melted in two roll-mill (Shaw
Robinson / 2799) at 170 oC and 60 rpm. PE wax and
UV stabilizer were added followed by the dried rice
straw particles and the process continued till
homogeneity was ensured. Then, the resulting blend
was placed in a three-piece stainless moulding set and
compression-moulded in a hot press at 170 C and 30
T/cm2 for 10 min. Ten different formulations were
tested as follows:
Sample

Composition

PE

Virgin HDPE

A1

80% HDPE + 20% RS

A2

77% HDPE + 20% RS + 3% PE Wax

A3

76.5% HDPE + 20% RS + 3% PE Wax + 0.5% UV

B1

65% HDPE + 35% RS

B2

62% HDPE + 35% RS + 3% PE Wax

B3

61.5% HDPE + 35% RS + 3% PE Wax + 0.5% UV

C1

50% HDPE + 50% RS

C2

47% HDPE + 50% RS + 3% PE Wax

C3

46.5% HDPE + 50% RS + 3% PE Wax + 0.5% UV

50.0
45
40
908.86

35

390.34

964.81

30

579.95

25
%T
1375.64

20
2848.72

15

722.68
1638.18

10

3443.36

2920.39
1465.57

5
0.0
4400.0 4000

3000

2000

1500
cm-1

Figure 1 IR spectrum of PE Wax.

1000

500 350.0

Water absorption

% Increase

The specimens were immersed in water for 2 and 24

hours at 231C and the weight gain and thickness
increase were measured for three replicate..

Moreover, the samples with PE Wax showed better

strength compared to the samples without. The UV
stabilizer presence also increased the resistance to
weathering degradation.
The presence of the RS greatly reduced the elongation
at break: the HDPE-RS samples almost failed in brittle
manner without showing too much ductility in contrast
to the virgin HDPE (figure 5).

Elongation
at break; %

15

2
0

10

PE A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 B3 C1 C2 C3
% Thickness;2 hr
% Weight;2 hr

% Thickness;24 hr
% Weight;24 hr

It is seen that the extent of weight gain and swelling

increases with the increase of the amount of the RS
present. Also the presence of the PE Wax greatly
reduced these values.
Tensile test
Tensile tests were conducted to measure the ultimate
strength, the modulus and the failure strain. Tests were
performed at a crosshead speed of 5 mm/min.
Additionally, samples were also tested after immersion
in deionized water for 24 hr. and after being aged in
weathering chamber (Radiation: 60 w/m2, Humidity:
50%, Temperature: 38 OC) for 1000 hr.

PE
A1
A2
A3
B1
B2
B3
C1
C2
C3

Figure 3 Percent increase in weight and thickness after 2 and 24

hours water immersion.

Control
samples

After water
immersion

After
weathering

Figure 5 Elongation at break.

Figure 6 shows the modulus of elasticity of the

samples. The addition of RS increases the modulus.
Also, the PE Wax increases the modulus of the HDPERS composite.
Modulus of
Elasticity;
GPa
0.6

The resultant tensile strength is shown in figure 4. It is

seen that the addition of the RS resulted in a decrease
of strength, and the magnitude of this decrease
depends on the amount of RS present.

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2

Tensile
Strength;
MPa

0.1
0
PE
A1
A2
A3
B1
B2
B3
C1
C2
C3

20
15

Control
samples

After water
immersion

After
weathering

10
Figure 6 Modulus of Elasticity.

References
0

PE
A1
A2
A3
B1
B2
B3
C1
C2
C3

Control samples

After water immersion

Figure 4 Ultimate tensile strength.

After weathering

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