Youssef 2009

Journal of Elastomers and
Plastics
http://jep.sagepub.com/
Studies on Sugarcane Bagasse Fiber−−Thermoplastics Composites

H.A. Youssef, M.R. Ismail, M.A.M. Ali and A.H. Zahran
Journal of Elastomers and Plastics 2009 41: 245
DOI: 10.1177/0095244308095014
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Studies on Sugarcane Bagasse
Fiber–Thermoplastics Composites
H. A. YOUSSEF,* M. R. ISMAIL, M. A. M. ALI AND A. H. ZAHRAN
National Center for Radiation Research and Technology
29 P. O. Box, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt
ABSTRACT: The influence of thermoplastic/bagasse fiber ratio, as well as

electron beam irradiation on the physicomechanical properties of low-density
polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites has been
investigated. The concentration of bagasse fibers ranges from 20 to 80 wt%. The
results indicate that there is deterioration in the properties as fiber concentration
increased; however, it becomes significant only beyond 50% (w/w) bagasse fibers
in both LDPE and HDPE composites. Also, the data show that this decrease in
the properties is more pronounced in HDPE rather than LDPE composites.
It can be noticed that enhancing adhesion between fibers and thermoplastics can
be achieved by irradiation of the thermoplastic phase prior to mixing at 10 up to
60 kGy; a maximum improvement in the properties is observed at 40 and 10 kGy
for LDPE and HDPE, respectively. From the data it can be seen that the increase
in the flexural properties is higher than 100%, while it does not exceed 65%
for impact toughness. On the other hand, the reduction in water absorption is
not more than 5.5%. Also, examining SEM micrographs reveals that there is some
sort of adhesion between fibers and thermoplastics phases.
KEY WORDS: electron beam, thermoplastic/fiber composites, modulus of

rupture, impact toughness, water absorption.
INTRODUCTION
of fillers and reinforcements are used

S EVERAL BILLION POUNDS
annually in the plastics industry. Cellulose fibers are used as fillers
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: amer05ali@yahoo.com
JOURNAL OF ELASTOMERS AND PLASTICS Vol. 41–May 2009 245

0095-2443/09/03 0245–18 $10.00/0 DOI: 10.1177/0095244308095014
ß SAGE Publications 2009
Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore

246 H. A. YOUSSEF ET AL.
in the majority of resin composites [1]; they are also used in rubber
composites [2]. Mixing the polar and hydrophilic fibers with nonpolar
hydrophobic matrix can result in difficulties associated with the
dispersion of the fibers in the polymeric matrix. The major factors
that govern the properties of short fiber composites are fiber dispersion,
fiber length, fiber orientation, and fiber–matrix adhesion [3]. Coupling
agents or compatibilizing agents are commonly employed to overcome
these problems [4]. These chemical reagents convert the hydrophilic
surface of cellulosic fiber to a hydrophobic one; as a result the fiber–
fiber hydrogen bonding is reduced, the dispersion of the fibers in the
matrix is enhanced and the adhesion is improved via the mechanism
such as entanglement, mechanical interlocking and formation of
physical or chemical bonds between treated fibers and the polymer
matrix [5]. Stael et al. [6] analyzed the composites formed by sugar
cane bagasse and thermoplastic polymer such as polystyrene, poly-
ethylene, and ethylene-co-vinyl acetate by NMR technique.
NMR responses showed that in EVA composite, bagasse can act as
reinforcement whereas in PS and PE composites bagasse acts as filler.
There are several reports on chemical modification of natural fibers,
these methods include bleaching [7] of fibers, alkaline and silane
treatment [8–10], acetylation [11] and cynaoethylation [9,10], reaction
treatment/coating with polymers [8,11], treatment with alkyl isocy-
nate [12,13], grafting polymerization of vinyl monomers [9,10].
The choice of chemical structure and the concentration of coupling
agents play an important role in achieving the optimum mechanical
properties of the composites [14].
Based on the fact that when thermoplastics are subjected to ionizing
radiation undergo structural changes accompanied by molecular cross-
linking, grafting, and chain scission reaction [15,16]. Jacobo et al. [17]
studied the effect of gamma irradiation (1–7 Mrads) on PP-HDPE-wood
fibers. It was found that the improvements in tensile strength were
insignificant.
From the proceeding literature, the effect of ionizing radiation
on bagasse fiber–thermoplastic composite properties has not been
extensively studied. Because electron beam (EB) irradiation has an
advantage over gamma irradiation, due to the latter being time
consuming and having an increased probability of severe oxidation
degradation of the composite, in this study EB irradiation is employed to
LDPE and HDPE prior to mixing with bagasse fibers. The effect of
bagasse fiber/thermoplastic ratio and irradiation dose on the properties
of the composites is investigated. Also, a mechanism of interaction
between composite components is suggested.

Studies on Sugarcane Bagasse Fiber–Thermoplastics Composites 247
EXPERIMENTAL
Materials
NATURAL FIBERS
Sugar cane bagasse is waste of the sugar industry. To get rid of

sugar residues in the bagasse, it is soaked in 4% NaOH solution, and
washed with water, then soaked with 10% NaHCO3 solution, and
washed with water again. The treated fibers were dried in air,
and ground in a rotary hammer mill. Fibers of diameter 0.85–0.5 mm
and length of 10–2 mm were used in the preparation of natural
fiber plastic composites.
PLASTIC WASTE
The plastic wastes used in this investigation are, low-density

polyethylenes (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), are
supplied from industrial wastes of some local plastic Factories
(El-Sheirf and El-Hegaze plastic factories (10th, of Ramadan city)
where these plastics are mainly used for packing, cables, and
tubing industry.
ADDITIVES
Di-iso-octylphthalate (DOP), C6H4 [COOCH2CH (C2H5) C4H9]2,

boiling point 2588C, specific gravity 0.98, viscosity 86.5 cp (Aldrich);
it was added by 20%. Zinc stearate (Lubricant) (CH3-(CH2)16-COO)2
Zn, specific gravity 1.095 (Riedel dehaen), it was added by 2%.
Preparation of Natural Fiber/Plastic Composites
Natural fiber plastic composites have been prepared by hot

mechanical mixing of the materials in a laboratory Plasti-Corder twin-
screw mixer, (Plasti-Corder PL 2100, Brabender OHG Dusiburg,
Germany). The ratios of natural fibers to plastic ranged from 20 : 88
to 80 : 20. The plastic waste material, dioctylphthalate, zinc stearate
were put into the mixer gradually after the proper temperature has
been reached at 140 and 1608C for LDPE and HDPE respectively
with continuous mixing for 5 min (at speed of 20 rpm). Natural
fibers were added gradually to molten plastic through 15 min to
achieve good mixing with the plastic. The composite was spent

in mixing for another 5 min. The sample was admixed for another 5 min
at high speed (50 rpm) to ensure that homogeneous mixing was
achieved. The sample was removed from the mixer and crushed to
small pieces. The crushed samples were pressed in a mold of dimensions
16 16 0.8 cm3, using an electric hot press type Carver-M-154. Hot
pressing was performed at the same processing temperature for each
plastic type, 5 min preheating and 10 min at 20,000 PSI and the sample
cooled at the same pressure for 5 min. The sample removed from the
mold and prepared for mechanical and physical testing.
Electron Beam Irradiation of LDPE and HDPE
Electron beam irradiation of LDPE and HDPE before mixing with

bagasse fibers was carried out in atmospheric air at ambient
temperature using 1.5 MeV, 25 mA beam current, power of 37.5 kW,
and scan width variable up to 90 cm at different doses, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50,
60, and 70 kGy. Electron beam was installed at the National Center for
Radiation Research and Technology (NCRRT), Cairo, Egypt.
Phsicomechanical Properties
STATIC BENDING
The static bending properties were determined using mechanical

testing machine type HT-9112, Hung-Ta Instruments Co. LTD, Taiwan.
The test procedure of static bending was carried out according to the
ASTM standards (ASTM-D1037-11). Modulus of rupture (MOR) and
modulus of elasticity (MOE) can be calculated from the following
equations;
MOR ¼ 3 P L=2 b d2 ð1Þ
MOE ¼ P1 L3 =4 b d3 y ð2Þ
where,
b ¼ width of specimen in cm, d ¼ thickness of specimen in cm,
L ¼ length of span in cm, P ¼ maximum load (kg/cm2), P1 ¼ load at
proportional limit (kg/cm2), and y ¼ center of deflection at proportional
limit load in cm.

IMPACT TOUGHNESS MEASUREMENTS
The impact toughness measurements have been carried out on the

different composite samples to evaluate its resistance to impact load and
for the assessment of its brittleness and toughness. A pendulum impact
apparatus PSW-4J, have been used in this test according to ASTM
standards (D-256, 1987). The pendulum impact (PSW-4J) testing
apparatus was used, has been supplied by Gerhard Zorn Mechanische
Werkestatten, Stendal, Germany.
Four rectangular samples having a dimensions of 120, 15, and 10 mm
(unnotched test samples), were subjected to testing and the arithmetic
mean of the result values have been recorded. The impact toughness was
calculated from the following equation;
A
a¼ ð3Þ
b:h
where,
a ¼ the impact toughness in J/cm2, A ¼ absorbed impact energy in Joule,
b ¼ width of the sample in its center in cm, and h ¼ height of the sample
in its center in cm.
WATER ABSORPTION
This test was performed according to the ASTM standards (ASTM-

D1037-100) The specimens under test were submerged under distilled
water at room temperature for 24 2 h. The specimens were weighted
after the excess water was removed from its surface and each specimen
was tested four times and the arithmetic mean was calculated.The
specimen was dried in an oven at 103 28C for another 24 2 h, and the
specimen was weighed immediately after drying. Water absorption (WA)
can be calculated as the difference in weight before and after drying.
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
The morphology of the fracture surface of different samples of bagasse

fiber/thermoplastic composites were investigated by SEM. The SEM
micrographs were taken using a JSM – 5400 (JEOL, Japan). The samples
were cut along the fracture surface and stored in sealed plastic bags.
A sputter coater was used to pre-coated conductive gold onto the fracture
surface before observing the microstructure using a voltage of 15 kV.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Mechanical and Physical Properties of Different

Fiber/Thermoplastics Ratios
MODULUS OF RUPTURE
The flexural strength in terms of MOR reflects the maximum load

carrying capacity of a member in bending and proportional to maximum
moment borne by the specimen. MOR is an accepted criterion of
strength although it is not a true stress because the formula by which it
is computed is valid only to the elastic limit.
Figure 1 illustrates the relation between varying fiber ratios
against the flexural strength (MOR) for LDPE and HDPE composites.
From the figure it follows that increasing fiber loading decrease
the MOR for both LDPE and HDPE composites; this decrease
was more pronounced in case of HDPE than LDPE. As previously
mentioned, this decrease was attributed to poor interaction
between hydrophobic and hydrophilic phases. In addition, a more
pronounced decrease in strength at high fiber loading that during
our investigation may be due to fiber agglomeration. The regions that
fibers agglomerate represent a defect points which significantly
contributes to the specimen failure.
25
LDPE
HDPE
20
Modulus of rupture (MPa)
15
10
5
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Fiber ratio (wt.%)
FIGURE 1. Modulus of rupture of bagasse fibers-thermoplastic composites.

The difference in susceptibility of LDPE and HDPE towered fiber

loading could be due to the difference in crystallinity percentages.
Incorporation of fibers hinder the reorientation of molecular chains,
therefore, higher crystalline polymer becomes more influenced by fiber
loading. At 50% (w/w) fiber loading, the deterioration in MOR relative to
20% fiber concentration was 12 and 20% for LDPE and HDPE,
respectively, whereas at 80% fiber concentration, the deterioration was
recorded as 25% for LDPE and 50% for HDPE.
MODULUS OF ELASTICITY
Elasticity implies that deformations produced by low stress are

completely recoverable after load is removed. When loaded to higher
stress levels, plastic deformation or failure occurs.
Figure 2 which represent the modulus of elasticity versus increasing
fiber ratio, indicates that the MOE increased steadily as fiber loading
increased. Unlike MOR, MOE depends on the deformation of the
specimen, which is inversely proportional with MOE. Increasing fiber
loading decrease the deformation, as a result MOE increases. Increasing
MOR corresponds to increasing of the stiffness of the composite
i.e., decreasing the elasticity. As expected, HDPE composite have higher
MOE than LDPE. At 50% fiber loading, the increase in MOE relative to 20%
fiber concentration was 250 and 500% for LDPE and HDPE, respectively.
LDPE
HDPE
Modulus of elastcity (GPa)
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Fiber ratio (wt.%)
FIGURE 2. Modulus of elasticity of bagasse fibers-thermoplastic composites.

IMPACT TOUGHNESS
Impact toughness measures the energy to break a specimen. It is a

comparative value that represents the ability of composite to absorb
shocks that cause stresses beyond the proportional limit. It well known
that the agreement among the various impact tests is poor, different
tests often rank a series of polymer in different order. In addition a given
type of impact test does not give a value that is constant value.
The geometry of the specimen is important, since the impact strength
depends on sample size. The disagreement occurs between the different
kinds of tests indicate that impact testes are controlled by at least two or
more basic physical properties.
Figure 3 describes the relation between impact toughness and fiber
loading for LDPE- and HDPE-loaded bagasse fibers. From the figure, it
is appears that HDPE has the highest impact toughness followed by
LDPE. Moreover, increasing fiber concentration has higher influence on
HDPE than LDPE in which the deterioration in impact toughness was
higher for HDPE than LDPE. The decrease in impact toughness can be
calculated as 20 and 30% for LDPE and HDPE, respectively at 50% fiber
loading relative to the values at 20% fiber loading. The results of impact
toughness can be correlated with modulus of elasticity for each
particular composite in which the composite has low MOE has high
impact toughness compared to other composite and vice versa i.e., both
impact toughness and MOE were inversely proportional to each other.
2.0
1.8 LDPE
HDPE
1.6
Impact strength (J cm−2)
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Fiber ratio (wt.%)
FIGURE 3. Impact strength of bagasse fibers-thermoplastic composites.

WATER ABSORPTION
Figure 4 illustrates the relation between increasing fiber ratio and the
percentage of WA of the composite samples. It is noticed that as the fiber
loading increase, the WA increase gradually; the increase become more
pronounced beyond 50 and 60% fiber loading for HDPE and LDPE,
respectively in which an abrupt increase in WA was observed. Also, it was
observed that WA% values for HDPE were higher than LDPE. This could
be due to that higher amorphous phase percentages (LDPE) can relatively
wets fibers compared to that posses higher crystallinity (HDPE). The
obtained data also reveals that the pronounced increase in percent of WA
occurs at a critical fiber concentration depending on the thermoplastic
used, beyond this concentration, the rate of WA increased remarkably.
This phenomenon can be elucidated as follows; below the critical
concentration, the thermoplastic represent the continuous phase
whereas bagasse fiber is the dispersion phase, therefore, the rate of
increasing WA was relatively small. The low percentage of WA is due to
that, bagasse fiber domains are completely encapsulated by thermo-
plastic phase. Hence, the chance of water penetration and as a result WA
by bagasse fibers was low. Beyond the critical concentration of bagasse
fibers, probably between 50% and 60% there are two co-continuous
phases are present at the same time. Beyond 60%, fibers represent the
continuous phase and the thermoplastic becomes the dispersed phase,
18
LDPE
16 HDPE
14
Water absorption (%)
12
10
4
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Fiber ratio (wt.%)
FIGURE 4. Water absorption of bagasse fibers-thermoplastic composites.

consequently the opportunity of WA is higher since the surface that

subjected to water extremely increased. Another reason for high WA at
high concentration of fibers is the agglomeration of fibers, which in
turns favors WA.
From the obtained mechanical and physical properties data of
bagasse–thermoplastic composites, it appears that the deterioration in
the mechanical as well as physical properties become significant only
beyond 50% bagasse fibers. The aforementioned percent of bagasse
fibers represent the optimum concentration of fibers. Hence, the
subsequent investigation will be conducted with only 50% bagasse
fiber content for LDPE, HDPE.
The decrease in the mechanical properties due to incorporation of
bagasse fibers arises from the poor adhesion between the hydrophobic
matrix and hydrophilic fibers. It has been mentioned [18,19] that
the problem of compatibility of the cellulosic fibers with thermoplastics
polymer matrix can be overcome by chemical modification of the
fiber surface.
In the next section of this study, LDPE and HDPE are irradiated prior
mixing with fibers at various irradiation doses to improve the bonding
between plastic matrix and bagasse fibers. The optimum irradiation
dose that attains highest mechanical and physical properties for LDPE
and HDPE will be considered.
Effect of Electron Beam Irradiation on the Properties

of LDPE and HDPE/Bagasse Fiber Composites
Based on the obtained mechanical and physical properties which

reveal that the deterioration in these properties become significant only
beyond 50% bagasse fibers, the subsequent section will be conducted
with LDPE and HDPE loaded with 50% bagasse fiber.
Figure 5 shows that the flexural strength (MOR) for HDPE was higher
than that of LDPE at any given irradiation dose. This is attributed mainly
to the high degree of crystallinity possessed by the HDPE. It is also
obvious that increasing irradiation dose beyond 10 kGy slightly increased
MOR of LDPE up to 50 kGy, after that it decreased. The MOR in the case
of HDPE composite reached its maximum value at 10 kGy after that it
sharply decreased. From the data it is obvious that maximum MOR of
HDPE is attained at lower irradiation dose compared to LDPE. This could
be attributed to low amorphous part percentages of HDPE that requires
low dose to reach its highest crosslinking density.
The effect of irradiation was more pronounced on MOE as
shown in Figure 6. The data reveal that MOE of LDPE increased

45
LDPE
40 HDPE
Modulus of rupture (MPa)

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Irradiation dose (kGy)
FIGURE 5. Effect of electron beam irradiation on the modulus of rupture of

thermoplastics -bagasse composite.
6
LDPE
HDPE
5
Modulus of elasticity (GPa)
1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
FIGURE 6. Effect of electron beam irradiation on the modulus of elasticity of

Thermoplastic/bagasse fiber composite.
as dose increased at a high rate up to 40 kGy then a decline

was observed. On the other hand, the MOE for HDPE composite
increased to reach its maximum value at 10 kGy, then it sharply
decreased up to 60 kGy.

2.2
LDPE
2.0 HDPE
Impact strength (J cm−2)

1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
FIGURE 7. Effect of electron beam irradiation on the impact strength of thermoplastics-
bagasse fiber composite.
Figure 7 depicts the impact toughness of LDPE- and HDPE-bagasse

fiber composites. From the figure, it is clear that there are abrupt
increases in impact toughness value upon irradiation for both LDPE and
HDPE at 10 kGy. A more pronounced increase was attained for LDPE
than HDPE. Irradiation of the LDPE and HDPE composites at a dose
higher than 10 kGy slightly increases the magnitude of impact
toughness. The higher impact toughness values for LDPE than that of
HDPE comes from higher ductility of LDPE.
As shown in Figure 8, WA data implies that there is a slight decrease
in the percentage of WA of LDPE composite due to irradiation of LDPE.
On the other hand, the decrease in WA upon irradiation of HDPE
insignificantly affects HDPE composite.
From the mechanical properties date it can be stated that there are an
improvement in MOR reaches 130 and 160% for LDPE and HDPE
composites, respectively. The increase in MOE in case of LDPE and
HDPE is recorded as 130 and 137% whereas the increase in impact
toughness is 65 and 30% for LDPE and HDPE composites at 40 and
10 kGy, respectively. WA represents the lowest property affected by
irradiation of thermoplastics in which the reduction in WA is only 5.5
and 0% for LDPE and HDPE.
The improvement in the mechanical properties of thermoplastic–
bagasse fibers composites as a result of thermoplastics irradiation can be

7.0
LDPE
6.8 HDPE
Water absorption (%)

6.6
6.4
6.2
6.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
FIGURE 8. Effect of Electron beam irradiation dose on water absorption of bagasse fiber-
thermoplastic composites.
explained on the basis of increasing compatibility between the two

phases which depends on the degree of adhesion.
The efficiency of electron beam irradiation can be explained as when
polyethylene is subjected to ionizing radiation e.g., gamma ray or
electron beams, macromolecular free radicals are formed. These free
radicals lead to many reactions namely, crosslinking, double bond
formation, ring closer, atom transfer [20], etc. When air irradiation
polymers are heated [21], decomposition of the peroxide that formed
during irradiation takes place. In order to account for the formation of
peroxidic structure one must assume that oxygen reacts with polymeric
free radicals [22]. The peroxy free radicals on heating and through
molecular rearrangements produce ketones, aldehyde or both in
addition to alkoxy free radicals (RO*). This free radical reacts with
composite components yielding polyethylene and bagasse fibers free
radicals. These free radicals recombine to form grafted bagasse fibers
onto polyethylene matrix as shown in Figure 9.
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
Taking the advantages of the large depth of focus associated with

SEM, the shape and the length of the incorporated fiber onto the
thermoplastic matrix as well as the way by which the bending fracture

Irradiation
C C C C C* H C + H*
H2 H2 H2 H2 H2
O O*
C C* H C + O2 C C CH2
H2 H2 H2 H
O O* O
Heat
C C CH2 C C + O* H
H2 H H2 H2
Or
O O*
O
Heat +
C C CH2 C O* C
H2 H H2 H2
H
(RO*)
RO* + PE H ROH + PE*
RO* + Bagasse H ROH* + Bagasse*
PE* + Bagasse* PE Bagasse
FIGURE 9. Suggested mechanism of interaction between bagasse fibers and thermo-

plastics (LDPE and HDPE).
occurs can be visualize. Therefore, SEM could provide us with valuable

information concerning the influence of the different coupling agent
systems on the addition between the fiber and thermoplastics phase for
each particular polymer system.
Bending fracture surface of untreated and treated LDPE and HDPE
composites with electron beam irradiation has been examined in SEM to
study the nature of the interfacial bending or adhesion between the
thermoplastic and fiber phases. Figure 10 shows micrographs corre-
sponding to treated and untreated bagasse fiber/LDPE composites.
As shown in Figure 10(a) for untreated composite, during the bending
process, the fibers got debonded from the matrix due to the absence of
adhesion between the two phases. In this case, the failure of the material
is caused by fiber pull out from the matrix. The dark region (or holes)
denotes the places where the fibers were laying out. Irradiation of

(a)
(b)
FIGURE 10. SEM picture of bagasse fiber-Low-density polyethylene composites,

(a) untreated LDPE-composites, (b) LDPE-composites treated using 40 kGy EB irradia-
tion. (75x magnification).
thermoplastic before mixing seems to be enhances the fiber adhesion

with matrix [Figure 10(b)]. The absence of the holes and the coating of
the fibers with thermoplastic are an evidence of improvement adhesion
mechanism.
The SEM images of the untreated bagasse-fibers/HDPE composites
as well as the treated composites using irradiation were illustrated in
Figure 11. The untreated HDPE composite [Figure 11(a)], dose not
experienced any signs for adhesion between the fibers and thermo-
plastic; this reflected on the absence of matrix domains attached fibers
and the fibers appears to be free from thermoplastic phase. The absence
of holes compared to LDPE may be due to the harder domains of HDPE;
as a result, pulling of fibers becomes difficult. The difference between

(a)
(b)
FIGURE 11. SEM of bagasse fiber/high-density polyethylene composites, (a) untreated

HDPE-composites, (b) HDPE-composites treated using 10 kGy EB irradiation. (75x
magnification).
irradiated [Figure 11(b)] and unirradiated HDPE composite specimens

was hard to distinguish compared the case of LDPE. The reason may be
due to the crosslinking in LDPE is higher than HDPE. From Figures 10
and 11, it is obvious that the effect of irradiation was more pronounced
in LDPE than HDPE.
CONCLUSION
From the obtained mechanical and physical properties data of

bagasse–thermoplastic composites, we come to conclude that the

deterioration in the mechanical as well as physical properties become

significant only beyond 50% (w/w) bagasse fibers in both LDPE and
HDPE composites. Also, it can be seen that the decrease in the
mechanical properties upon addition of bagasse fibers is more
pronounced in the case of HDPE rather than LDPE. Electron beam
irradiation of the thermoplastic phase reveals that the optimum doses
for LDPE and HDPE were 40 and 10 kGy, respectively; beyond that, the
properties un der i nv estigation leveled off or decreased.
The improvements in MOR reach 130 and 160% for LDPE and HDPE
composites, respectively. Also, the increase in MOE in case of LDPE
and HDPE composites is recorded as 130 and 137% whereas impact
toughness increases by 65 and 30% for LDPE and HDPE composites.
On the other hand, WA represents the lowest property affected
by irradiation of thermoplastics in which the reduction in WA is only
5.5 and 0% for LDPE and HDPE, respectively. Furthermore,
SEM micrographs are considered as an evidence for improving adhesion
between composite phases.
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Journal of Elastomers and

Studies on Sugarcane Bagasse Fiber−−Thermoplastics Composites

The online version of this article can be found at:

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>> Version of Record - May 1, 2009

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ABSTRACT: The influence of thermoplastic/bagasse fiber ratio, as well as

KEY WORDS: electron beam, thermoplastic/fiber composites, modulus of

of fillers and reinforcements are used

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: amer05ali@yahoo.com

JOURNAL OF ELASTOMERS AND PLASTICS Vol. 41–May 2009 245

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Sugar cane bagasse is waste of the sugar industry. To get rid of

The plastic wastes used in this investigation are, low-density

Di-iso-octylphthalate (DOP), C6H4 [COOCH2CH (C2H5) C4H9]2,

Preparation of Natural Fiber/Plastic Composites

Natural fiber plastic composites have been prepared by hot

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Electron Beam Irradiation of LDPE and HDPE

Electron beam irradiation of LDPE and HDPE before mixing with

The static bending properties were determined using mechanical

MOR ¼ 3 P L=2 b d2 ð1Þ

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IMPACT TOUGHNESS MEASUREMENTS

The impact toughness measurements have been carried out on the

This test was performed according to the ASTM standards (ASTM-

SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

The morphology of the fracture surface of different samples of bagasse

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Mechanical and Physical Properties of Different

The flexural strength in terms of MOR reflects the maximum load

FIGURE 1. Modulus of rupture of bagasse fibers-thermoplastic composites.

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The difference in susceptibility of LDPE and HDPE towered fiber

Elasticity implies that deformations produced by low stress are

FIGURE 2. Modulus of elasticity of bagasse fibers-thermoplastic composites.

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Impact toughness measures the energy to break a specimen. It is a

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consequently the opportunity of WA is higher since the surface that

Effect of Electron Beam Irradiation on the Properties

Based on the obtained mechanical and physical properties which

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Modulus of rupture (MPa)

FIGURE 5. Effect of electron beam irradiation on the modulus of rupture of

FIGURE 6. Effect of electron beam irradiation on the modulus of elasticity of

as dose increased at a high rate up to 40 kGy then a decline

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Impact strength (J cm−2)

Figure 7 depicts the impact toughness of LDPE- and HDPE-bagasse

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Water absorption (%)

explained on the basis of increasing compatibility between the two

SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

Taking the advantages of the large depth of focus associated with

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RO* + PE H ROH + PE*

RO* + Bagasse H ROH* + Bagasse*

PE* + Bagasse* PE Bagasse

FIGURE 9. Suggested mechanism of interaction between bagasse fibers and thermo-