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Study on the Physico-Mechanical Properties of Starch-Treated Jute Yarn-

Reinforced Polypropylene Composites: Effect of Gamma Radiation
Mubarak A. Khan a; Ruhul A. Khan a; Haydaruzzaman a; Sushanta Ghoshal a; M. N. A. Siddiky b; M. Saha b
a
Radiation and Polymer Chemistry Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, Bangladesh
Atomic Energy Commission, Dhaka, Bangladesh b Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical
Technology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Online Publication Date: 01 May 2009

To cite this Article Khan, Mubarak A., Khan, Ruhul A., Haydaruzzaman, Ghoshal, Sushanta, Siddiky, M. N. A. and Saha,
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Gamma Radiation',Polymer-Plastics Technology and Engineering,48:5,542 — 548
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 Polymer-Plastics Technology and Engineering, 48: 542–548, 2009
Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0360-2559 print=1525-6111 online
DOI: 10.1080/03602550902824358

Study on the Physico-Mechanical Properties of

Starch-Treated Jute Yarn-Reinforced Polypropylene
Composites: Effect of Gamma Radiation
Mubarak A. Khan1, Ruhul A. Khan1, Haydaruzzaman1, Sushanta Ghoshal1,
M. N. A. Siddiky2, and M. Saha2
1
Radiation and Polymer Chemistry Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology,
Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2
Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Dhaka,
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Downloaded By: [Max Planck Inst & Research Groups Consortium] At: 10:09 22 May 2009

composites is that these composites are not biodegradable

Jute yarn reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites were
prepared by compression molding. To prepare the composites, jute
yarns were treated with 1–5% aqueous starch solution (w/w) varying
different soaking time (1–5 mins). The yarn content in the composite
was about 50% by weight. Starch treated jute composites showed
higher mechanical properties than that of the untreated jute compo-
sites. Composites prepared with 3% starch treated yarns (for 3 mins
soaking time) demonstrated the highest mechanical properties (opti-
mized), i.e., tensile strength 52 MPa, tensile modulus 700 MPa,
bending strength 50 MPa and bending modulus 1406 MPa. Opti-
mized composite was then treated with gamma radiation (Co-60)
at a dose of 500 krad and found further improvement of the mechan-
ical properties. Water uptake of the composites at room tempera-
ture (25
C) was measured and found that starch treated samples
showed higher water uptake properties than the control sample.
After 500 hrs of simulating weathering testing, optimized compo-
sites retained its 75% TS and 93% TM.
Keywords Composites; Jute fiber; Mechanical properties;
Polypropylene; Starch
INTRODUCTION
Composite materials are now using in furniture, kitchen
to civil constructions, automobile and marine industries,
military purposes and even space or aircraft manufactur-
ing. So, composites are a versatile and valuable family of
materials that can be used in many fields with high quality
and low cost applications. Generally synthetic fibers (glass,
carbon, aramid, ceramic, etc.) are used as the reinforce-
ment in the composites. Among all the synthetic fibers,
glass fibers received much attention due to its low cost
and better thermo-mechanical properties compared to other
fibers. The problem of using synthetic fiber reinforced
Address correspondence to Mubarak A. Khan, Polymer
Chemistry Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technol-
ogy, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box 3787,
Dhaka, Bangladesh. E-mail: makhan.inst@gmail.com
and are causing environmental pollution[1].
For this reason, alternative reinforcement with
natural fiber in composites has recently gained much
attention because of having low cost and low density,
biodegradability and recyclable nature. Therefore, scien-
tists found natural fibers as a potential candidate for
applications in consumer goods, low cost housing and
automotive interior components and many others.
Among all the natural fibers, jute is cheap and available
fiber and can be used as the reinforcing agent for the
manufacture of flat and complex shaped components.
Jute is an agricultural fiber grows mainly in South Asia.
It has three principal constituents, namely a-cellulose,
hemi cellulose and lignin. In addition, it contains minor
constituents such as fats and waxes, inorganic and
nitrogenous matters, and traces of pigments like
b–carotene and xanthophylls[2,3].
Jute fibers have multicellular structure, composed of
microfibrils and the cross section is highly non-uniform.
Since jute is a natural fiber, the mechanical and physical
properties are highly inconsistent and are dependent upon
geographic origin, climate and growth conditions. Some
other disadvantages of jute fiber are its poor wettability,
poor fiber matrix adhesion, intrinsic polarity due to
the presence of hydroxyl group in their structure and
low moisture resistance make it insufficient for proper
reinforcement[4].
To overcome these drawbacks, attempts have been made
such as physical and chemical treatments to improve the
surface structure and surface energy of the fibers. Among
them, physical treatment such as ionizing or non ioni-
zing radiation can introduce better surface cross-linking
between natural fiber and matrix, and reduce its hydro-
philic nature through hydrophobic matrix. Use of vinyl
monomer treatment also reduces the surface hydrophilicity

542
 GAMMA RADIATION EFFECTS ON POLYPROPYLENE COMPOSITES
of jute, mercerization and silane treatment improved the
fiber matrix adhesion and thus enhanced the physico-
mechanical properties of jute-based composites[5].
Research works are carrying out using jute fibers and
jute fibre reinforced composites. It is reported that jute
fiber was reinforced and made jute-polycarbonate and
jute-biopol composites. Several other reports found on jute
based unidirectional composites where thermoplastic such
as polyethylene, polypropylene, etc. and thermoset such
as unsaturated polyester and epoxy resin matrices are
used[6–13]. Polypropylene (PP), a thermoplastic and are
widely using as an engineering material because it possesses
several vital and useful properties such as transparency,
dimensional stability, flame resistance, high heat distortion
temperature and high impact strength.
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PP is also very suitable for filling, reinforcing and
blending. PP with fibrous natural polymers of biomass
origin is one of the most promising routes to create
natural-synthetic polymer composites[14–16]. The purpose
of this study is to see the effectiveness of starch as stiffening
agent on jute yarn. The main focus would be to find out the
effect of starch on the physico-mechanical properties of
jute yarn=PP composites.
EXPERIMENTAL
Materials
Jute yarns were supplied by Bangladesh Jute Research
Institute (BJRI), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Polypropylene (trade
name: Cosmoplene) was collected from the Polyolefin
Company Limited, Singapore. Starch was purchased from
the local market of Bangladesh.
Methods
Preparation of Starch Solution. Starch solution of
different concentrations was prepared by dissolving the
required amount of starch in warm water (w=w) and then
stirred for about 15 mins. The formulation is given in
Table 1. Jute yarns were then soaked in the starch solu-
tion for varying soaking times (1–5 mins). After soaking,
the jute yarns were dried in an oven at 105
C for 6 hrs
TABLE 1
Formulation of starch solution (w=w) used to treat the jute
yarns for composite fabrication
Formulations
Composites Starch (%) Water (%)
S-1 1 99
S-2 2 98
S-3 3 97
S-4 5 95
543
and then kept in a polyethylene bag prior to composite
fabrication.
Fabrication of Composites. Polymer sheets of 0.30–
0.35 mm thickness were prepared by heat press. Jute yarns
were weaved unidirectionally by hand in a steel mould and
soaked in the starch solution then oven dried at 80
C for
6 hours. Treated yarns were then placed in between two
PP sheets. Composites were prepared by sandwiching using
heat press at 180
C for 5 mins under a pressure of 5 tons
using Carver Laboratory Press (model 2518, USA). Then
composites were cooled to room temperature by using
another press and cut to the desired size. The test samples
were conditioned at 25
C and 65% relative humidity for
few days before testing.
Irradiation. The composite samples were irradiated
using a Co-60 gamma source (25 kci) of the Bangladesh
Atomic Energy Commission, Savar, Dhaka, for 500 krad
radiation dose (dose rate was: 350 krad=hour).
Mechanical Tests. The tensile properties such as
tensile strength (TS) and elongation at break (Eb) of the
composites were determined using a Universal Testing
Machine (Instron 1011, UK). Tensile strength measure-
ments and three-point bending tests were carried out
following DIN-53455 and DIN-53452 standards respec-
tively. All the results were taken as the average values of
10 samples.
Water Uptake. Composite samples were immersed in
the static water beaker at 25
C for different time periods
up to 7 days. Before immersion in the water, the weight
of the samples was determined. After certain period of
time, samples were taken out from the beaker, wiped using
tissue papers and then took weight. The water uptake
(mass gained) was determined by the subtraction of initial
weight from final weight.
Simulating Weathering Testing. Simulating weathering
test of the composite samples (60  15  2 mm3) was car-
ried out by Accelerated Weathering Tester (model Q-U-
V, the Q-Panel Company, U.S.A.). The temperature during


the treatment varied between 65  2 C (sunlight) and


45  2 C (condensation) through alternating cycles of
4 hrs sunlight and 2 hrs condensation for a period of about
500 hrs. The loss of tensile properties due to the weathering
treatment was determined.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Tensile Properties
The tensile strength (TS) and the tensile modulus (TM)
of the untreated jute yarn=PP composites were found to be
36 MPa and 542 MPa, respectively. But all starch treated
(1–5%) jute based composites showed higher TS and TM
values. Figures. 1 and 2 show TS and TM of the starch
 544 M. A. KHAN ET AL.
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FIG. 1. Tensile strength versus soaking time of the composites for
varying starch formulation (S-1 for 1%, S-2 for 2%, S-3 for 3%, and S-4
for 5% starch treated jute yarns).
composites against different soaking times (1–5 mins).
From Figure 1, it is seen that TS of the starch based com-
posites increased with the increase of starch content in the
solution and found TS of 57.83 MPa for 5% starch treated
jute yarn=PP composites (S-4) at 1 min soaking time.
For 1–3% starch treated composites, the TS is gradually
increased up to 3 mins soaking time and after that slightly
decreased. The maximum TS found for 3% starch treated
composites (S-3) for 3 mins soaking time and the value
was 76.4 MPa, this is 112% higher than that of the untreated
composites. For 5% starch treated composites (S-4 ) the TS
values increased slightly for 2 mins soaking time but further
increase of soaking time the TS values decreased.
FIG. 2. Tensile modulus versus soaking time of the composites for
varying starch formulation (S-1 for 1%, S-2 for 2%, S-3 for 3%, and S-4
for 5% starch treated jute yarns).
From Figure 2, it is also found that the TM of the 3%
starch treated composites (S-3) for 3 mins soaking time
performed best results (845 MPa) which is 56% higher than
that of untreated composites. When jute yarns are treated
with starch solution, the cause of increase of TS and TM
values may be that starch is working here as a good stiffen-
ing agent. It is well known that starch is widely using as
stiffening agent for fabrics. As a result, stress transfer from
the fibers to matrix is higher, so higher TS and TM values
found from the starch based composites. At higher starch
concentration (5%), the jute fibers become too sticky and
as a result the adhesion between the fibers and matrix
may not be so good. Probably this is the cause of low TS
and TM of the 5% starch treated composites (S-4), as
found in the experiment.
Percentage elongation at break (% Eb) of the untreated
composites were found to be 2.4% but all the starch treated
jute composites found lower than that of the untreated one.
The Eb (%) of all of the starch based composites were
evaluated and shown in Fig. 3. Since the TS and the TM
of the composites increased with the starch treatment of
the fibers, the fiber matrix adhesion might be higher and
probably this is the cause of slight decrease of Eb (%) of
the composites. For 1 to 3% starch treated composites,
the Eb (%) is gradually increased up to 3 mins soaking time
and after that slightly decreased. The cause behind this may
be the elastic properties of the starch increase the Eb of the
jute fibers to a certain limit. On the other hand, for 5%
starch treated composites (S-4), the Eb (%) values decrea-
sed continuously from 1 to 5 mins soaking time.
Bending Properties
Bending properties such as bending strength (BS) and
bending modulus (BM) of the untreated composites found
FIG. 3. Effect of starch concentration on the elongation at break (Eb) of
the composites against soaking time (S-1 for 1%, S-2 for 2%, S-3 for 3%,
and S-4 for 5% starch treated jute yarns).
 GAMMA RADIATION EFFECTS ON POLYPROPYLENE COMPOSITES
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FIG. 4. Bending strength versus soaking time of the composites for
varying starch formulation (S-1 for 1%, S-2 for 2%, S-3 for 3%, and S-4
for 5% starch treated jute yarns).
29 MPa and 850 MPa respectively which are much lower
than that of treated composites. BS and BM of the starch
treated (1–5%) composites were evaluated and are shown
in Figs. 4 and 5. It is clear that the BS and BM values
found the highest at 3% starch composites (S-3) for 3 mins
soaking time and the values are 62.4 MPa and 1826 MPa,
respectively. This is an almost 115% increase of BS and
BM. The improvement of the bending properties may
be the similar as explained for tensile properties of the
composites.
Water Uptake
Water uptake (%) of the composites (weight of each
sample was 5 g) for 7 days was plotted against different
FIG. 5. Bending modulus versus soaking time of the composites for
varying starch formulation (S-1 for 1%, S-2 for 2%, S-3 for 3%, and S-4
for 5% starch treated jute yarns).
545
FIG. 6. Effect of starch concentration on the water uptake (%) of the
composites for 3 mins soaking time (UT for untreated, S-1 for 1%, S-2
for 2%, S-3 for 3%, and S-4 for 5% starch treated jute yarns).
formulations as shown in Fig. 6. For untreated composite,
water uptake was 0.78% which is substantially lower water
absorption than that of treated composites. With the
increase of starch treated jute fibers in the composites,
the water uptake values increased i.e., 2.2% for 5% starch
treated composites (S-4). These indicated that starch plays
an important role to attract water molecules. It is known
that starch is strongly hydrophilic. On the other hand,
hydroxyl (–OH) group is one of the important functional
groups in jute fibre and starch, which causes hydration in
aqueous media and increasing the water uptake of the
starch treated composites. As a result, the water uptake
FIG. 7. Tensile strength versus degradation time (hrs) of the composites
made using jute yarns treated with different formulations (soaking time
was 3 mins) (S-1 for 1%, S-2 for 2%, S-3 for 3%, and S-4 for 5% starch
treated jute yarns).
 546 M. A. KHAN ET AL.

steadily. In the weathering machine, UV source (wave

length 313 nm) is used, as a result some active sites formed
in the matrix and increased the cross linking between
matrix and jute fibers. Thus, TS and TM values of the
composite increased. After 500 hrs of weathering testing
almost 75% TS and about 93% TM retained for 3% starch
treated composites (S-3). Composite samples still retains its
original shape.

Effect of Gamma Radiation on the Mechanical

Properties of the Composites
The effect of gamma radiation on the mechanical prop-
erties of different types of composites denoted by C1, C2,
C3, and C4 is shown in Table 2. The total irradiation dose
(500 krad) and dose rate (350 krad=hour) were optimized
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earlier[17]. From the Table 2(a), it is found that TS of the

FIG. 8. Tensile modulus versus degradation time (hrs) of the composites
made using jute yarns treated with different formulations (soaking time
was 3 mins) (S-1 for 1%, S-2 for 2%, S-3 for 3%, and S-4 for 5% starch
treated jute yarns).
properties of the untreated composites found lower than
that of the starch treated composites.
Simulated Weathering Testing of the Composites
Composite samples were degraded using Simulated
Weathering Testing Machine for 500 hrs. The TS and the
TM values decreased with time and are shown in Figs. 7
and 8. It was found that initially (after 50 hrs) TS and
TM values increased slightly and after that it decreased
untreated jute yarn=PP composite (C1) is 48 MPa. But
when 3% starch-treated yarns (3 min soaking) were used
for composite fabrication, TS increased to 76 MPa (C2)
which is about 58% increase in TS. In order to study the
effect of gamma radiation on the properties of composite,
both jute yarns and PP were irradiated and then fabricated
the composite (C3). The TS increased to 64 MPa which is
about 33% higher than that of C1. It is found that starch
has more potential than gamma radiation on the enhance-
ment of TS.
The TS of the composite was further improved when
both jute yarns and PP were first irradiated using gamma
radiation, then jute yarns were treated with 3% starch for
3 min soaking time and the composite (C4) was fabricated.

TABLE 2
Effect of gamma radiation on the strength (a) and modulus (b) of the composites
a
Mechanical Properties
TS (MPa) BS (MPa)
C1 C2 C3 C4 C1 C2 C3 C4
48  2 76  2 64  2 85  4 45  2 62  3 60  3 71  4
b
TM (MPa) BM (MPa)
C1 C2 C3 C4 C1 C2 C3 C4
665  12 845  15 855  25 1089  8 1322  10 1826  30 1856  25 2291  28
C1¼ Composite prepared with jute and polypropylene.
C2¼ Composite prepared with starch treated jute and polypropylene (optimized composite).
C3¼ Composite prepared with irradiated jute and irradiated polypropylene.
C4¼ Composite prepared with irradiated jute (then 3% starch treated)=irradiated polypropylene.
 GAMMA RADIATION EFFECTS ON POLYPROPYLENE COMPOSITES
The TS of the composites (C4) showed 85 MPa, which is
about 33% increase of tensile strength (TS) compared to
the composites (C3). As a result of starch and gamma
treatment, the TS values improved 77% higher related to
control composite (C1). From the discussion it is clear that
both starch and gamma have strong influence to improve
the tensile properties of the composites. The bending
strength (BS), tensile modulus (TM) and bending modulus
(BM) of the composites also improved significantly (BS
58%, TM 64% and BM 73%) when jute yarns were treated
with starch and gamma radiation. The highest mechanical
properties of the composites found when both jute yarns
and PP were first irradiated and yarns were treated with
starch then fabricated the composites.
Before going to explain the effect of gamma radiation on
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jute yarns, couple of lines would like to add here about the
structure of jute. Jute is a cellulosic structure with a chain
of homopolysaccharide consisting of identical monomeric
units of b-D-glucopyranose. The chains are cemented
together by lignin and hemicellulose, which are present at
12–14% and 22–24%, respectively. In addition to these,
the structure contains other minor constituents such as
wax and fats, inorganic salts, and pigments. The lignin is a
biomolecular three dimensional amorphous polymer[18,19].
Use of gamma radiation attributed higher mechanical
properties; gamma radiation produces three types of reac-
tive species in polymer (jute and PP). These are ionic, radi-
cal, and peroxide. The peroxide species are produced
because the polymers were irradiated in presence of oxy-
gen. When jute yarns are subjected to gamma radiation,
radicals are produced into the cellulose chain by hydrogen
and hydroxyl abstraction. Gamma radiation also ruptures
some carbon-carbon bonds and produces radicals. Chain
scission may also take place to form other radicals. In
the presence of oxygen, gamma radiation induced radicals
in the cellulosic material produce cellulose diperoxides and
hydroperoxides species by a radical chain reaction process.
Gamma irradiation may affect the polymeric structure of
the jute fibres and PP, which may produce active sites that
can contribute to better jute and PP bonding[20–22].
CONCLUSION
In this experiment, starch is found as good stiffening
agent for the jute yarns. By using starch-treated jute yarns,
PP matrix unidirectional composites showed better
mechanical properties than that of the untreated jute based
composites. It is also found that 3% starch-treated jute
yarn based composites for 3 mins soaking time showed
the best result. From the experiment, it can be concluded
that mechanical properties of the unidirectional jute fibers
reinforced composites can be improved to a certain extent
by treating the fibers with starch solutions.
It is also observed that water uptake values by the starch
treated composite is higher than that of the control
547
specimens. Simulated weathering testing experiments (for
500 hrs) revealed that composites lost about 25% and 7%
of TS and TM respectively. Gamma radiation also found
potential to further improve the mechanical properties of
the starch based composites. Finally, the mechanical pro-
perties of the composites found the best results when com-
posites were fabricated using jute yarns irradiated by
gamma radiation and then treated with 3% starch solution
(3 min soaking) and the matrix was also pre-irradiated by
gamma radiation.
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