Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.

9, 2679-2693 ISSN 1229-9197 (print version)

DOI 10.1007/s12221-022-0014-9 ISSN 1875-0052 (electronic version)

Performance of Wood-plastic Composites Manufactured from Post-consumer

Plastics and Wood Waste under Coastal Weathering in Thailand
Chatree Homkhiew1,2*, Chainarong Srivabut2, Surasit Rawangwong1,2, and Worapong Boonchouytan1,2
1
Materials Processing Technology Research Unit, Faculty of Engineering,
Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya, Muang District, Songkhla 90000, Thailand
2
Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya,
Muang District, Songkhla 90000, Thailand
(Received January 4, 2022; Revised February 21, 2022; Accepted March 21, 2022)

Abstract: The performance of wood-plastic composites (WPCs) under natural weathering needs to be further evaluated, in
particular their resistance to coastal weathering in tropical counties. Because the coastal weathering is sensitive to the rising
acidity of the sea and changes in the frequency of storms. Thus, the effects of coastal weathering, post-consumer plastic types
(plastic bags, straws, and cups), and wood waste (twigs) contents in the range of 40-60 wt% on the durability of WPCs were
investigated. The samples were prepared by a twin-screw extruder and a compression molding machine. The results revealed
that the increase of wood flour from 40 to 60 wt% into the plastic bag composites insignificantly rose (about 0.12 %) the
melting temperature, but significantly decreased (about 23.8 %) the melting enthalpy of the un-weathered WPCs. Post-
consumer plastic from straws exhibits higher lightness and discoloration than that from a bag and cup, the plastic bag shows
the lowest these values. All the mechanical properties of the post-consumer plastics and WPCs significantly (α=0.05) reduced
in all cases after coastal weathering for 6 months. Overall, the post-consumer plastics from both the straw and cup presented
higher mechanical properties than the virgin high-density polyethylene; however, the WPCs based on the plastic bag showed
the lowest loss in modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and shear strength after coastal weathering for 6 months.
Keywords: Wood-plastic composites, Municipal solid waste, Weathering, Construction material, Wood twigs

Introduction impressive consumption in the past few decades. Some

Plastic waste has become a matter of great concern in
several countries and makes up a substantial volume of
global municipal solid waste [1,2]. These wastes have large
quantities in which most plastic waste comes from
residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional sources,
etc [3-5]. The researcher and government have focused their
efforts on recycling these waste plastics to reduce the
quantity of materials going into landfills. Thailand is one of
those countries where post-consumer plastics such as plastic
bags, plastic cups, and plastic straws are widely generated.
In the year 2019, the Pollution Control Department (PCD) of
Thailand reported the waste statistics data that Thailand
generated 28.71 million tons of plastic waste, and 6.38
million tons of these were disposed of with inappropriate
methods [6]. Plastic waste management in Thailand has
become more complex in the last decade owing to the
developing countries. Although, it aims to have plastic waste
in Thailand recycled 100 % in the year 2027, that is an
ambitious plan given the country's current recycling capacity
is only 25 % at most [7].
There are many applications of plastics displayed in
everyday life. Most plastic wastes made from thermoplastics
are relatively easy to recycle [8,9]. Both virgin and recycled
materials of thermoplastics are apparently the major
polymer construction materials of the future because of their
*Corresponding author: chatree.h@rmutsv.ac.th
properties of plastic waste are similar to those manufactured
from virgin materials [10,11]. Homkhiew et al. [12] and Yu
et al. [13] reported that recycled plastic exhibited some
similar mechanical properties with virgin materials. Many
products produced from plastic wastes are plastic lumber,
decking, terrace, floor carpets, flower vases, park benches,
and picnic tables including composite materials [14,15].
Wood-plastic composites (WPCs) have attracted significant
interest in residential markets and construction industries.
The WPC production has been focused on the use of
recycled plastic and wood waste. The WPCs manufactured
from plastic wastes reinforced with wood fibers or other
natural fibers are principally produced from commodity
recycled thermoplastics such as polypropylene (PP),
polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) [16,17]. The influence of plastic types on the melt
index, deflection, flame retardant, and other thermal
properties of WPC materials has been reported. In addition,
Ratanawilai et al. [18] reported that the wood types and
contents affected water absorption, strength, stiffness,
biodegradation, and microstructure of wood fiber adhesion
to the recycled plastic matrix, as well as color changes
following exterior exposure. Moreover, most of the research
investigated the reinforcement of plastics using different
types of wood fibers to achieve improvement in the
mechanical, physical, and thermal properties [19,20]. These
wood fibers are now well recognized to impart good
reinforcing capability to WPC materials. Also, the wood

2679
2680 Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9
fibers or natural fibers come from renewable resources, local
factories, and municipal waste are relatively inexpensive
[16,18].
Natural weathering is one of the important conditions
needed to evaluate the performance of the WPCs [21,22].
Significant interest has also arisen about the outdoor
performance of WPCs, in particular their resistance to
coastal weathering for tropical countries. Coastal weathering
can affect the properties of the WPCs because the coast is
sensitive to rising sea levels, rising acidity of the sea,
changes in the intensity and frequency of storms, warmer
ocean temperatures, and increases in precipitation. Homkhiew
et al. [21] investigated the effects of the different grades of
PP (virgin and recycled) of the PP/rubberwood flour
composites under natural weathering and found that the
virgin PP composites gave a smaller loss of MOR, MOE,
and hardness than that recycled PP. Hung et al. [23] also
studied the properties of the high-density polyethylene
(HDPE)/bamboo composites after exposure to natural
weathering, after exposure for 120-240 days the crystallinity
of the composites increased. Further, Taib et al. [24] revealed
that the HDPE/wood flour composites’ deterioration was
delayed after adding the hindered amine light stabilizer
(HALS) and ultraviolet absorber (UVA), meanwhile after
exposing to natural weathering the bamboo powder/PP
foamed composites with the antioxidant and HALS had
higher creep resistance and greater retentions of flexural
modulus, tensile and notched impact strengths than the
reference composites [25]. Silva et al. [26] also reported that
the recycled polypropylene/ethylene vinyl acetate/wood
flour composites needed to add the antioxidant additives for
reducing the discoloration and loss of the mechanical
properties. In addition, the properties of WPCs depend on
wood fiber as reinforcement because the internal structures
of the wood fiber consist of lignin and cellulose. Lignin was
greatly impacted by natural weathering, and these might
have contributed significantly to changing the surface and
color [16,21]. Moreover, the lignin is a chromophore in the
ultraviolet (UV) region, and energy is transferred and initiates
degradation processes, resulting in the lignin displaying
early effects of degradation caused by natural weathering
[27]. Several researchers in this field have concentrated on
the use of either a single plastic from the waste stream or a
Table 1. Mechanical and physical properties of post-consumer plastics
Types of plastic Mechanical properties (MPa)
wastes MOR MOE SS
Plastic bag 19.9 524 11.4
Plastic straw 54.1 1836 24.1
Plastic cup 57.4 1768 25.7
Note; MOR: modulus of rupture; MOE: modulus of elasticity; SS: shear strength; MFI: melt flow index. The melt flow index of the plastic
bag, straw and cup was carried out using an ASTM D 1238 standard.
Chatree Homkhiew et al.
simulated plastic waste fraction to produce the composites
reinforced with wood fibers. There have been few reports on
the effects of plastic types and wood contents on the
durability of the WPCs under real natural weathering, and no
reports exist on the effect of different post-consumer plastic
types and WF contents on the properties of the WPCs under
real coastal weathering that exposed to ultraviolet, high heat,
gusty wind, and acid rain. These factors are an accelerator in
the deterioration of the WPCs.
The waste plastics in the landfills consisted of extensive
post-consumer plastics such as plastic bag, cup, and straw as
well as wood waste. The post-consumer plastic types are an
important factor affecting the photodegradation and mechanical
properties of the WPCs because different plastic products
were produced from different plastic types and grades.
Hence, the effect of the post-consumer plastic types and
wood waste contents on the properties of the composites
under real coastal weathering are needed to be further
investigated. The current research aims to determine the
effects of post-consumer plastic types, such as plastic bags,
plastic cups, and plastic straw as well as wood waste
contents on the durability of the WPCs under real coastal
weathering resistance. The new information from this study
will facilitate in making decisions regarding the selection of
post-consumer plastic for manufacturing the WPC products,
such as railing, fencing, flooring, and decking, applied under
coastal weathering. The use of post-consumer plastics and
wood waste for producing a new composite material would
become a promising way to reduce the waste in landfills.
Experimental
Materials
The post-consumer plastics, namely plastic bags, plastic
cups, and plastic straws, were collected from the Songkhla
municipal solid waste landfill site (Songkhla, Thailand).
Their mechanical and physical properties were shown in
Table 1. All of the plastics used in this research were waste
materials from the community. Initially, the plastic wastes
were washed with a liquid detergent solution and three
rinsed in water before recycling. Subsequently, these plastics
were milled using a cutting mill with scrap sizes of 0.5-
1.5 cm and melted into pellets employing a co-rotating twin-
Hardness Density MFI
(Shore D) (g/cm3) (g/10 min)
61.9 0.962 15.6
73.9 0.915 12.1
76.0 0.913 11.8
Performance of WPCs from Post-consumer Plastics Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9 2681

Figure 1. Raw materials from (a) plastic bags, (b) plastic straws, (c) plastic cups, and (d) wood twigs.

screw extruder, Model CTE-D25L40 from Chareon Tut Co., Table 2. Formulation of wood-plastic composites in the experiment
Ltd. (Samutprakarn, Thailand). The temperatures from
Plastic Plastic Plastic Twigs
feeding to die zone were controlled in the range from 145 to Composite HDPE
bag straw cup flour
165 oC, while the screw rotation speed was fixed at 40 rpm. sample code (wt%)
(wt%) (wt%) (wt%) (wt%)
The wood twigs used as reinforcement in WPCs were
H100 96 - - - -
collected from the Songkhla landfill site. Prior to mixing, the
twigs were cut and hammer-milled into wood flour (WF), as B100 - 96 - - -
displayed in Figure 1. The WF was then sieved through a S100 - - 96 - -
mesh size of 40 (passing particles smaller than 400 µm) and C100 - - - 96 -
dried in an oven at a temperature of 110 °C for 12 h to ensure B6W4 - 56 - - 40
that the moisture content was less than 2 %. The chemical B5W5 - 46 - - 50
composition of wood twigs was cellulose 41.5 %, hemicellulose B4W6 - 36 - - 60
29.1 %, lignin 26.8 %, and ash 2.6 %. Besides, the ultraviolet
S6W4 - - 56 - 40
(UV) stabilizer, used as an additive in composite materials
with the trade name MEUV008, was purchased from TH S5W5 - - 46 - 50
Color Co., Ltd. (Samutprakarn, Thailand). Color masterbatch S4W6 - - 36 - 60
used for any plastic and all kinds of products was supplied C6W4 - - - 56 40
from HV PLAS Co., Ltd. (Samutsakhon, Thailand). C5W5 - - - 46 50
C4W6 - - - 36 60
Composites Processing
Note; HDPE: high-density polyethylene; wt%: percent by weight;
In experimental design, the WPC compositions consist of All formulations were filled pigment 3 wt% and ultraviolet stabi-
recycled plastic pellets in the range of 36-56 wt%, wood lizer 1 wt%. The H100 means 96 wt% of HDPE, and B6W4 means
twig flour in the range of 40-60 wt%, pigment fixed at 56 wt% of plastic bag and 40 wt% of twigs flour.
3 wt%, and UV stabilizer fixed at 1 wt%, as shown the
formulations in Table 2. The recycled plastic pellets, wood
twig flour, pigment, and UV stabilizer were then compounded Subsequently, the compression molding machine was applied
into WPC pellets employing the co-rotating twin-screw to produce the WPC panels with a temperature profile of
extruder. The melt temperature zones were set in the range 200 °C under the maximum pressure of 1000 psi for 25 min
of 165-185 °C from feed to die and the screw rotation rate with pre-heating (5 min), compressing (10 min), and cooling
was fixed at 60 rpm. The extruded strands would then be (10 min). The pellets were compressed in a rectangular mold
blown in air through a cutting machine into WPC pellets and with approximate dimensions of 20 cm (width)×25 cm
dried in an oven at a temperature of 50 °C for 24 h. (length)×0.48 cm (thickness). Finally, all of the specimens
2682 Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9 Chatree Homkhiew et al.

were machined from the WPC panels according to the temperature was in the range from 22.8 to 34.8 °C, as shown
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard, in Table 3. The weather data during the experiment was
related to the testing of mechanical and physical properties, supported by the Southern-East Coast Meteorological Center,
such as ASTM D790, ASTM D5379, and ASTM D2240. Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Thailand.

Natural Weathering Test Analytical Methods

Natural weathering tests under coastal climate in the South
of Thailand were carried out in accordance with ASTM
D1435. The dimensions of WPC specimens depend on the
type of properties being measured. The composite samples
were fixed on racks facing south and inclined at a 45 o angle
on the roof of the ten-floor of the Engineering Building at
Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya, Muang,
Songkhla (latitude 7° 12' 3.1"N and longitude 100° 36' 4.7"E),
which is far from the coast, about 50 meters, as shown in
Figure 2. The WPC samples were then weathered by a total
exposure time of 6 months from July 2020 to December
2020, which covered the period of the rainy season at
Songkhla in the South of Thailand. Such period has a severe
change in weather conditions both gusty wind from storms,
acidic water from rainfall, high heat, and ultraviolet rays
from the sunlight, are accelerators in deterioration of the
WPCs. The WPC samples were measured after exposure for
2, 4, and 6 months, respectively. The average relative
humidity in the range of this experiment was 82.03 %RH,
the total rainfall was 2,366.8 mm from 117 days, and the
Thermal Analysis
Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the raw materials
for manufacturing the composite materials was conducted
employing a Perkin Elmer, Model TGA-7 (Massachusetts,
USA). The temperature range of testing was from 50 to
600 °C at a heating rate of 10 °C/min under pure nitrogen
with approximately 6-7 mg samples in weight. In addition,
the effects of waste material concentration on melting
temperature (Tm) and melting enthalpy (ΔHm) of the WPC
samples were performed using differential scanning calorimetry
(DSC), Model DSC-7, Perkin Elmer (Massachusetts, USA)
at a heating temperature ranging from 20 to 500 °C with a
heating rate of 10 °C/min. The percentage of crystallinity
(χc) from compounding between recycled plastics and wood
waste was calculated in the following equation (1).
H 100
c = ----------m0-  --------- (1)
Hm W
where ∆Hm is the enthalpy of fusion determined from DSC,
ΔHm0 is the theoretical enthalpy of fusion of 100 %

Figure 2. Experimental set-up for wood-plastic composites in natural weathering test on (a) July 2, 2020 and (b) September 2, 2020.

Table 3. Characteristics of weather conditions during the natural weathering testing

Number of rainy Rainfall value Average relative humidity Temperature (oC)
Month
(day) (mm) (%RH) Max. Min. Avg.
July 16 138.6 79.82 34.8 23.7 28.1
August 14 245.1 78.60 25.4 22.8 28.3
September 18 146.8 79.91 34.7 23.0 27.9
October 18 285.6 82.96 33.5 23.5 27.2
November 28 925.8 86.02 31.8 22.8 27.0
December 23 624.9 84.86 31.2 23.1 26.6
Performance of WPCs from Post-consumer Plastics
crystalline plastic melting (293 J/g for HDPE [28,29] and
148 J/g for PP [30,31]), and W is the weight fraction of
plastic in the WPCs.
Visual Surface and Morphological Analysis
The optical microscopy, Model Zeiss Axioskop (Oberkochen,
Germany), was used to evaluate the changes of the WPC
surfaces after exposure for 2, 4, and 6 months. The interfacial
morphology of WPCs was observed both before and after
outdoor exposure. Also, the voids and interfacial bonding
including dispersion of the wood flour in recycled plastics
were investigated by a cross-section area using a Field
Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), Model
FEI Apreo microscope from FEI Company (Oregon, USA).
Prior to the SEM observation, the surfaces of the samples
were gold-coated using a sputter coater to prevent electron
charging during the imaging analysis. The micrographs were
taken at a magnification level of 500× and an accelerating
voltage of 5 kV.
Colorimetric Analysis
The color measurement of the composite surfaces was
carried out in accordance with the CIE L*a*b* color system.
The WPC samples were measured before and after exposure
time for a total of 6 months using a CHECK 3 portable
spectrophotometer (Datacolor, USA). Generally, the L*
displays the lightness of samples in which the minimum
value of L* represents the black color and a larger L* value
denotes a perfect reflecting diffuser or white color. The a*
and b* values are the chromaticity coordinates representing
red-green and yellow-blue, respectively. Five specimens of
each condition were measured at three locations on the
surfaces of each WPC sample. Additionally, the total change
in color (ΔE) of the composite samples was calculated using
the following equation (2):
2 2 2
E = L + a + b (2)
where ΔL, Δa, and Δb represent the differences between
before and after the exposure time of L*, a*, and b*,
respectively.
Statistical Analysis
Experimental results from five samples of each formulation,
condition, and characterization were employed to analyze
statistics. The effects of exposure to the natural weathering
for 6 months on the WPCs’ properties were evaluated using
a two-sample t test. A 5 % significance level (α=0.05) was
used for statistical analysis.
Characterizations
Before mechanical testing, all of the specimens were dried
in an oven at a temperature of 50 °C for 24 h to reduce the
moisture content in the WPC specimens. All the mechanical
tests were conducted at a room temperature of 25 °C with
five replications for each WPC formulation at each exposing
time.
Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9 2683
Three-point Bending Test
Flexural properties of WPC samples were measured using
a Mechanical Universal Testing Machine, Model NRI-
TS500-50 from Narin Instruments Co. Ltd. (Samutprakarn,
Thailand), in accordance with ASTM D790. The specimens
with dimensions of 100 mm (length)×13 mm (width)×4.8 mm
(thickness) were tested before and after outdoor exposure for
2, 4, and 6 months. The condition for the experiment was
controlled at a crosshead speed of 2 mm/min with a span of
80 mm. Data were collected and used to calculate the
modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE)
of each formulation and condition.
Single Shear Test
A single shear test of WPC materials was carried out on
the Mechanical Universal Testing Machine with a dimension
specimen of 76 mm (length)×20 mm (width)×4.8 mm
(thickness) following the standard ASTM D5379. Each
specimen for the single shear test was controlled at a
crosshead speed of 2 mm/min. The experimental results
were measured before and after weathering for 2, 4, and 6
months. The data obtained from the experiment and their
average values were reported.
Hardness Test
The hardness tests of WPC samples un-weathered and
weathered for 2, 4, and 6 months were evaluated in
accordance with the ASTM D2240 specification. All of the
specimens with approximate dimensions of 30 mm (length)
×30 mm (width)×4.8 mm (thickness) were investigated
employing a mechanical Shore D Durometer, Model GS-
702G from Teclock Corporation (Nagano, Japan). Reported
values were the average data of hardness measurements.
Results and Discussion
Characteristics of Raw Materials
Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is generally applied to
measure the thermal stability of polymer; however, it could
be used to assess thermoplastic types. Due to many post-
consumer plastics (waste plastic from bags, straws, and
cups) used in current work, it is necessary to evaluate their
thermal stability for identifying thermoplastic types by
comparing them with virgin plastics (plastic reference). The
TGA and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) curves of
polypropylene (PP), high-density polyethylene (HDPE),
post-consumer plastics, and wood flour are shown in Figures
3(a) and 3(b), respectively. As expected, decomposition
profiles of the virgin plastics and the post-consumer plastics
are characterized by only one peak. The peak of PP, plastic
straw, and plastic cup started at about 407, 380, and 376 °C
with maximum derivative weight at 454, 453, and 452 °C,
respectively, while the HDPE and plastic bag initially
occurred at approximate 428 and 426 °C with maximum
weight loss rates at 478 and 476 °C, respectively. It was
found that the HDPE and the plastic bag had a higher
2684 Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9
thermal stability than those PP, straws, and cups. Further, it
could be seen that the thermal stability of the bag is
insignificantly different from the HDPE, meanwhile, the
straw and cup have little difference of the thermal stability
with the PP. Meaning that the bag used in the current study
was produced from the HDPE thermoplastic, while the straw
and cup were generated from the PP.
Figure 3 also shows the thermal stability of wood waste.
The first 7 % weight loss of the wood in the range 50-120 °C
was due to moisture release. The first peak in Figure 3(b)
started at about 289 °C and the second peak occurred at
approximately 357 °C for the wood waste. In general, the
thermal decomposition of natural fiber approximately occurs
at 250, 358, and 476 °C for hemicelluloses, cellulose, and
their lignin and ash, respectively [27,32], which is consistent
with this research. Further, it was found that waste wood’s
chemical composition (by weight) included cellulose
41.5 %, hemicellulose 29.1 %, lignin 26.8 %, and ash 2.6 %.
Mechanical properties of the post-consumer plastics are
indicated in Table 1. It was found that the plastic cup had a
Figure 3. Curves of (a) TGA and (b) DTG for raw materials.
Chatree Homkhiew et al.
slightly higher modulus of rupture (MOR), shear strength
(SS), and hardness than that the straw and the plastic bag
gave the lowest mechanical properties. As the above result,
the straw and cup were proved that they were produced from
the PP, while the bag was manufactured from the HDPE. In
fact, the PP plastic has more mechanical properties than the
HDPE. Because, the HDPE has ethyl groups attached to
alternate carbon atoms on the chain backbone, while the PP
has methyl groups on the chain backbone, which these
methyl groups contribute to the mechanical properties that
are superior to the HDPE [15].
Differential Scanning Calorimetry Analysis
Effects of the natural weathering on changes in the
thermal properties of the wood-plastic composites at the
surface layer were determined from the DSC analysis. Table
4 presents that the melting temperature (Tm) and melting
enthalpy (ΔHm) of the WPCs reduced after exposure to coast
climate for a total of 6 months. The reduction in the melting
temperature of the weathered WPCs can reflect the
degradation of molecules on the crystalline phase formation
[33]. The increasing addition of WF into the plastic bag
composites slightly affected the melting temperature but
significantly decreased the melting enthalpy of the un-
weathered WPCs. It was further reported that the WPCs
based on a plastic cup and plastic straw have significantly
higher melting temperatures than those WPCs based on
plastic bags.
DSC was often used to determine the crystallinity degree
of the un-weathered and weathered WPCs. Table 4 shows
that the crystallinity of the WPCs based on a bag before
weathering is 67 % and that of the WPCs after weathering
for 6 months is 30.40 %, which indicates that the crystallinity
of the WPCs decreased about 54.63 % after exposing to the
coastal weathering. This is due to the higher concentration of
formed polymer radicals with different functional groups
(carboxyl, carbonyl, vinyl, hydroxyl), which these groups
disable the fine order of polymer chains, resulting in the
reduction of crystallinity degree [34,35]. The increasing
incorporation of WF from 40 to 60 wt% into the plastic bag
composites significantly increased the crystallinity degree
Table 4. Melting temperature, melting enthalpy, and crystallinity
degree of the WPCs in the experiment
Sample Tm (oC) ΔHm (J/g) Crystallinity (%)
B6W4 125.67 117.789 67.00
B6W4* 124.67 53.439 30.40
B4W6 125.83 95.114 81.16
C6W4 149.83 66.923 75.36
S6W4 150.17 59.134 66.59
Note; *WPC sample after weathering for 6 months; Tm is the melt-
ing temperature; ΔHm is the heat quantity obtained by DSC.
Performance of WPCs from Post-consumer Plastics
by about 21.13 %. This is because of an increment in larger
crystals residing closer to the wood fibers. In fact, the
crystallization behavior of the blending plastics is influenced
by many factors, such as thermal history, composition, size
of dispersed particles, and interfacial interactions [36].
Besides, it was also found that the WPCs based on a plastic
cup gave the highest crystallinity degree as compared with
those based on a plastic bag and plastic straw. The changes
in WPC structure will result in changes in all properties.
Color Changes and Cracked Surface Analysis
Physical appearances of the post-consumer plastic and the
recycled plastic composites with different WF contents, after
exposure to the coastal weathering for a total of 6 months,
were assessed from lightness, discoloration, and fractured
surface. Figures 4(a) and 4(b) display lightness (L*) and total
color changes or discolorations (∆E), respectively, of the
Figure 4. Effects of natural weathering on (a) lightness and (b) total color change of the composites with different plastic types and WF
contents.
Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9 2685
post-consumer plastic and WPCs. For virgin HDPE and
post-consumer plastics (bag, straw, and cup), the lightness
and discoloration steadily rose with exposure time, due to
photobleaching of pigment added into the plastics. The post-
consumer plastic from a straw exhibits higher lightness and
discoloration than that from bag and cup, and the plastic bag
shows the lowest these values. Further, the virgin HDPE
shows lower lightness and discoloration than all the post-
consumer plastic, for the same exposure times. This may be
due to the stronger structure (chains) of the virgin plastic.
The WPCs based on a plastic bag illustrate an increase of
lightness and discoloration with exposure time, but for the
WPCs based on a straw and cup the lightness and discoloration
quickly increased up to 4 months of weathering and then
slightly reduced after 6 months. This bleaching could be
attributed to the photo-oxidation of the wood component,
particularly lignin, while darkening has been caused by
2686 Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9 Chatree Homkhiew et al.

Table 5. Effects of natural weathering on physical and mechanical properties of the composites with different plastic types and WF contents
Lightness (L*) MOR (MPa) MOE (GPa) SS (MPa) Hardness (Shore D)
Formulation
0M 6 M % change 0 M 6 M % loss 0 M 6 M % loss 0 M 6 M % loss 0 M 6 M % loss
H100 34.7 a 37.4 b 7.8 23.1 a 18.4 b 20.3 0.88 a 0.65 b 26.1 13.3 a 12.9 a 3.01 66.3 a 62.2 b 6.18
a b a b
B100 37.1 44.1 18.8 19.9 16.3 18.1 0.52 a 0.45 b 13.5 11.4 a 10.2 b 10.5 61.9 a 59.9 b 3.23
S100 35.4 a 66.8 b 88.7 54.1 a 41.3 b 23.7 1.84 a 1.57 b 14.7 24.1 a 23.0 b 4.56 73.9 a 71.6 b 3.11
a b a b
C100 38.6 56.7 46.7 57.4 44.3 22.8 1.77 a 1.38 b 22.0 25.7 a 23.7 b 7.78 76.0 a 72.8 b 4.21
B6W4 28.3 a 67.2 b 137.7 17.6 a 15.7 b 10.8 1.07 a 1.05 a 1.90 10.3 a 9.90 a 3.88 65.2 a 64.1 b 1.69
a b a b
B5W5 28.1 69.9 148.5 15.5 12.9 16.8 1.27 a 1.08 b 15.0 10.1 a 9.30 b 7.92 66.2 a 64.9 b 1.96
a b a b
B4W6 27.9 69.0 147.6 13.6 10.3 24.3 1.40 a 1.15 b 17.9 9.90 a 8.80 b 11.1 66.6 a 65.1 b 2.25
S6W4 27.7 a 76.8 b 176.7 31.3 a 27.0 b 13.7 2.31 a 2.09 b 9.50 19.9 a 18.4 b 7.54 76.0 a 74.5 b 1.97
a b a b
S5W5 27.6 76.9 178.3 27.3 22.3 18.3 2.47 a 2.07 b 16.2 18.4 a 16.2 b 12.0 76.8 a 75.2 b 2.08
S4W6 27.5 a 77.2 b 180.1 19.5 a 15.8 b 19.0 2.57 a 1.89 b 26.5 16.0 a 13.8 b 13.8 76.9 a 74.8 b 2.73
a b a b
C6W4 27.7 76.8 177.2 33.5 27.4 18.2 2.40 a 2.08 b 13.3 21.0 a 18.1 b 13.8 77.1 a 76.0 b 1.43
C5W5 28.8 a 76.7 b 166.4 26.8 a 20.9 b 22.0 2.46 a 2.04 b 17.1 18.7 a 16.2 b 13.4 77.4 a 76.2 b 1.55
a b a b
C4W6 27.4 76.1 178.0 20.9 15.5 25.8 2.52 a 1.61 b 36.1 15.2 a 12.5 b 17.8 78.0 a 76.3 b 2.18
Note: M: month; Different superscripts a-b of each property and formulation indicate significant difference (α=0.05) between properties of
un-weathered and weathered specimens for 6 months.

oxidation (black mold) on the surface of the composites
[21]. Likewise, the WPCs based on the bag provided the
lowest lightness and discoloration whereas based on straw
and cup they gave insignificantly different values, for the
same wood contents. Moreover, the WPCs based on a plastic
bag, straw, and cup steadily show higher lightness and
discoloration than those neat post-consumer plastics, for the
same plastic types and exposure times. This result indicates
that the wood flour mainly affected the physical appearances
of the WPCs under aging conditions. The photobleaching is
because of the photo-degradation of lignin whose chromophoric
groups will absorb ultraviolet radiation and create free
radical groups, meanwhile, it leads to the creation of water-
soluble substances which can dissolve by rainfalls [37].
Further, the two-sample t test in Table 5 also indicates that
the exposure to the coastal weathering for 6 months
significantly (α=0.05) affected the lightness of the neat
plastics and the WPCs. The neat plastics and the composites
un-weathered (suffix a) display significantly lower lightness
than those weathered (suffix b) for 6 months, at the same
WF contents and plastic types.
Microscopy images of the composite surfaces before and
after weathering for 2, 4, and 6 months were shown in Table
6. Prior to exposure (un-weathered), the WPC surfaces were
smooth with no significant defects, meaning it could be
concluded that encapsulation of wood fiber into a plastic
matrix is successful. However, with higher WF loading the
surfaces became rougher. This could well explain that a
larger WF content would be exposed on the composites’
surface. After natural exposure, the WPC surfaces became
more cracks appeared in the plastic matrix with increasing
exposure time. The cracks on the WPC surfaces are directly
correlated to polymer chain scission, which was affected by
wetting and drying cycles [21,38,39]. When the cracks
occurred and accumulated, the penetration of easier light and
water into the deep composite structure, facilitated further
degradation [39]. In addition, the WPCs based on the plastic
cup clearly illustrate rather and larger surface cracks than
those based on the plastic bag and straw, for the same wood
contents. The WPCs with 60 wt% WF obviously display
more cracks on the surfaces than that with 40 wt% WF. This
indicates that the increasing presence of the wood fiber in
the plastic composites accelerated the photodegradation of
the plastics [39,40], and the composites added higher wood
flour had a larger swelling ratio when contacted with water
or moisture [21]. Finally, the changes on these surfaces lead
to degradation in the mechanical properties of the WPCs.
Flexural Property Analysis
Owing to the widespread outdoor application of the
WPCs, the characteristic of the flexural properties of both
modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE)
is very important. The flexural property loss of the post-
consumer plastic and the recycled plastic composites
reinforced by the different WF contents are displayed in
Figure 5. Both MOR and MOE of the post-consumer plastic
and WPCs were reduced with exposure times. When the
WPCs are exposed to ultraviolet rays, chain scissions of the
plastics occurred continually with the exposure times. It
affects the crystalline regions and decreases the crystallinity
of the plastics, as the results shown earlier in DSC analysis.
Likewise, the two-sample t test in Table 5 also displays that
the exposure to coastal weathering for 6 months significantly
(α=0.05) decreased the MOR and MOE of the neat plastics
Performance of WPCs from Post-consumer Plastics
Table 6. Optical microscopy images of the WPC surfaces at different weathering stages
Un-weathered Weathered for 2 months
B6W4
B4W6
S6W4
S4W6
C6W4
C4W6
and the WPCs, except the MOE of the plastic bag
composites reinforced with 40 wt% WF (loss about 1.90 %).
Moreover, the recycled plastic composites with higher WF
contents sharply lost MOR and MOE after weathering for 6
months; for example, the composites between the plastic cup
and wood flour of 40, 50, and 60 wt% showed a reduction of
MOR about 18.2 %, 22.0 %, and 25.8 %, respectively, for
MOE about 13.3 %, 17.1 %, and 36.1 %, respectively, as
shown in Table 5. These findings agree with Te-Hsin et al.
[41] reporting that the WPCs with 60 wt% wood sawdust
gave the highest losses of mechanical properties after
Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9 2687
Weathered for 4 months Weathered for 6 months
outdoor weathering for 360 days. The WPCs with higher
plastic contents had better encapsulation of the wood fiber,
which helps superior protection from ultraviolet radiation
and humidity [15,41]. Further, the swelling of WPCs
absorbed humidity increased with WF content, which causes
microcracks in the plastic matrix, resulting in a decrement of
efficiency in stress transfer from plastic matrix to wood fiber
[21,42]. Besides, the composites from plastic cup lost the
largest MOR and MOE and the plastic bag showed the
lowest loss. This result could be substantiated with the
microscopy images (as illustrated in Table 6), that the WPCs
2688 Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9
Figure 5. Effects of natural weathering on (a) MOR and (b) MOE of the composites with different plastic types and WF contents.
based on a plastic cup showed the largest surface cracks,
while the composites based on plastic bags exhibited the
fewer cracks on surfaces, resulting in the lowest loss of
flexural properties.
The effects of WF contents and post-consumer plastic
types on the MOR and MOE of WPCs are also shown in
Figure 5. As expected, the MOR of all the WPCs revealed
that the strength reduced continuously with WF content.
This is because the WF suppresses the orientation strengthening
of the plastic at high deformation, leading to a reduction of
the deformation, which causes the WPC specimens to break
close to the yield point [43]. Homkhiew et al. [44] also
explained that a reduction in the strength of the WPCs can
be caused by entanglement and agglomeration of WF in the
plastic matrix as well as the poor interfacial bonding
between wood fiber and plastic matrix, which can be proved
from the morphological analysis. In contrast, an increase of
WF contents in the un-weathered plastic composites rises
Chatree Homkhiew et al.
the MOE. Since wood has more modulus or stiffness as
compared with plastic matrix, and thus the increasing
incorporation of WF rises the stiffness of the WPCs. However,
after weathering for 4 and 6 months the composites based on
a plastic straw and cup illustrated trends of a decrease in
MOE with the increasing additions of WF content.
Furthermore, the virgin HDPE presented the lower MOR
and MOE than those post-consumer plastics, i.e., straw and
cup. The above result, the plastic straw and cup were
produced from the PP that has methyl groups on the chain
backbone, which leads to superior mechanical properties
than the HDPE [15]. It was further found that the MOR and
MOE of WPCs based on a plastic straw are slightly different
than based on a plastic cup, but they have significantly
higher MOR and MOE than WPCs based on a plastic bag.
These results can be substantiated in SEM micrographs
(Figure 6) which illustrate that the composites based on
plastic straw (Figures 6(c) and 6(d)) and plastic cup (Figures
Performance of WPCs from Post-consumer Plastics
Figure 6. SEM micrographs (magnification of 500×) of WPCs made from (a), (b) plastic bag, (c), (d) plastic straw, and (e), (f) plastic cup.
6(e) and 6(f)) had less voids, fewer porosities, and better
interfacial bonding between the plastic matrix and WF than
those based on a plastic bag (Figures 6(a) and 6(b)).
Therefore, the plastic composites based on a straw and cup
had stronger efficiency in transferring force from matrix to
WF, which led to higher bearing capacity.
Shear Strength Analysis
The effects of the coastal weathering on the shear strength
of the post-consumer plastic and the recycled plastic
composites with different WF contents are illustrated in
Figure 7. The shear strength of the post-consumer plastic
Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9 2689
and WPCs reduced slightly in all cases with the increasing
exposure time. Variation in decrement of the shear strength
was partly correlated to the climate. This is due to the
moisture and ultraviolet rays. When plastics were exposed to
ultraviolet rays, a chain scission mechanism of the plastics
occurs, resulting in the generation of the free radicals and
reduction of the molecular weight [45,46]. Likewise, the
moisture absorption of the WPCs enhanced the degradation
of interfacial adhesion [47] because the swelling of wood
fiber destroys the bonding with the plastic matrix [48]. Both
of these lead to reduce the mechanical properties of the
WPCs, due to a decrease in the efficiency of loading transfer
2690 Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9
from the plastic matrix to the wood fiber. Further, the two-
sample t test in Table 5 also demonstrates that the effects of
exposure to the natural weathering for 6 months were
statistically significant the shear strength of all WPCs,
except the plastic bag composites reinforced with 40 wt%
WF (loss about 3.88 %). The composites un-weathered
(suffix a) show significantly higher shear strength than those
weathered (suffix b) for 6 months, at the same WF contents
and plastic types.
The shear strength of neat plastics reduced by 3.01 %,
10.5 %, 4.56, and 7.78 % for virgin HDPE, bag, straw, and
cup, respectively, while the strengths decreased in ranges of
3.88-11.1 %, 7.54-13.8 %, and 13.41-17.8 % for WPCs
based on the bag, straw, and cup, respectively, after 6 months
of weathering, as shown in Table 5. The WPCs with a lower
WF content had lesser losses in the mechanical properties.
Since the addition of lower WF increases the ductility of the
WPCs [49]. Also, the WPCs with lesser WF proportion
absorb lower moisture which results in the damage from
smaller swelling. Further, the WPCs based on a straw and
cup exhibit more shear strength loss after 6 months of
weathering than all the neat plastics. Ratanawilai and
Taneerat [15] discussed that the humidity absorbed by the
WPCs penetrates into voids and gaps between the phases,
which can damage the compatibility between the phases of
plastic matrix and wood filler.
Figure 7 also shows the effects of post-consumer plastic
types and WF contents on the shear strength of WPCs. As
can be seen, the WPCs based on a plastic bag showed the
lowest shear strength as compared to the composites
containing other post-consumer plastic, and the composites
based on a plastic cup displayed the highest strength, which
is agreeable with the shear strength of neat post-consumer
plastic. Normally, the strengths of the WPCs depend on the
mechanical properties of neat plastics. In current work, the
plastic cup was produced from the PP, but the plastic bag
Figure 7. Effects of natural weathering on shear strength of the composites with different plastic types and WF contents.
Chatree Homkhiew et al.
was manufactured from the HDPE. Thus, the WPCs with a
plastic bag displayed the lowest shear strength. Further, the
shear strength of the WPCs exhibited a continuous decrease
with WF content. This result can be proved by considering
the SEM images in Figure 6. The recycled plastic composites
reinforced with higher WF content (Figures 6(b), (d), and
(f)) display rougher surfaces, larger agglomeration of WF,
and more gaps between WF and cavities between WF and
plastic matrix. Thus, it led to having a worse stress transfer
between the plastic matrix and WF, which results in a
decrease in the load resistance performance [50].
Hardness Analysis
The hardness of each post-consumer plastic and recycled
plastic composites with different WF contents is shown in
Figure 8. As expected, the hardness of all the post-consumer
plastic revealed a similar trend to the MOR and the shear
strength: the post-consumer plastic from the cup reached the
highest hardness whereas from the bag it attained the lowest
value, due to the plastic bag produced from the HDPE.
Further, the post-consumer plastics from both a straw and
cup present a higher hardness value than the virgin HDPE.
This is because both the straw and the cup were manufactured
from the PP which has larger hardness than the pure HDPE.
The choice of post-consumer plastic significantly influenced
the hardness value of WPCs. The composites from a plastic
cup gave the largest hardness value while the plastic bag
obtained the lowest value, which is consistent with the
hardness of neat post-consumer plastic. It is also revealed
that the average hardness of WPCs generally rose with the
reinforcing WF content. This is caused by the fact that the
wood fiber has a significantly greater hardness than those
weak plastic matrices [32,44], and the increasing incorporation
of the wood fiber into the plastic composites reduced the
elasticity of polymer chains, leading to stiffer composites
[51].
Performance of WPCs from Post-consumer Plastics
Figure 8. Effects of natural weathering on the hardness of the composites with different plastic types and WF contents.
Figure 8 also displays the degradation in hardness values
of the post-consumer plastics and the recycled plastic
composites with different amounts of WF. The average
hardness of the virgin HDPE, the post-consumer plastics,
and the WPCs decreased with exposure time. This was
caused by the increasing number of polymer chain scissions
with the exposure time [52], resulting in embrittlement and
surface cracks, as shown in Table 6. The shorter polymer
chains lead to lowers molecular weight of the polyolefin
which results in the degradation of all mechanical properties
[38]. The virgin HDPE and all neat post-consumer plastics
lose more hardness after 6-month exposure than all the
WPCs, as shown in Table 5. The neat post-consumer plastics
exhibited the hardness loss in the range of 3.11-4.21 % and
the WPCs lost the hardness in a range of 1.43-2.73 %, but,
interestingly, the virgin HDPE loses its hardness up to
6.18 %. This is probably because of the presence of chemical
impurities in plastic products (cups, straws, and bags), which
might enhance the resistance to ultraviolet rays. Further, it
was also found that the hardness loss of the recycled plastic
composites clearly rose with an increment of the reinforcing
WF content. Since the number of plastic chain scissions on
the WPCs’ surfaces increases. These results could be also
substantiated with microscopy images in the Table 6, in
which the WPCs with higher WF contents illustrate more
and larger cracks on the surfaces. A two-sample t test (in
Table 5) indicates that the exposure to the coastal weathering
for 6 months significantly (α=0.05) reduced the hardness of
the neat plastics and the WPCs.
Conclusion
The experimental results showed that the coastal exposure
time, different post-consumer plastic types and WF contents
significantly affected all of the properties of the WPCs. The
TGA results revealed that the HDPE and plastic bag had a
Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9 2691
higher thermal stability than those PP, straw, and cup. For
the physical appearances, the virgin HDPE, the neat post-
consumer plastics, and the composites based on plastic bags
exhibited that the lightness and discoloration steadily rose
with the exposure time. Both neat plastic and composites
from straws showed higher lightness and discoloration than
those from bag and cup, and the plastic bag showed the
lowest these values. In addition, the characteristics of the
mechanical properties need to evaluate for deciding the
outdoor applications of the WPCs. All the mechanical
properties of the post-consumer plastics and the WPCs
significantly (α=0.05) decreased in all cases after coastal
weathering for 6 months. Meaning that the lifetimes of the
WPCs are shortened after exposure to coastal weathering.
The virgin HDPE presented lower MOR, MOE, SS, and
hardness than those of a plastic straw and cup. The WPCs
based on a plastic bag showed the lowest mechanical
properties as compared to the composites containing other
post-consumer plastics because the straw and cup were
generated from the PP plastic. Further, the MOR and SS of
all the WPCs also revealed that the strength reduced
continuously when the WF additions rose, due to larger
agglomeration of WF and more gaps between WF and
plastic matrix. Moreover, the composites with higher WF
contents sharply lost MOR, MOE, SS, and hardness after
coastal weathering for 6 months. This is because the WPCs
with higher WF contents are poorer protection from
ultraviolet radiation and humidity. Based on the findings of
these results, the composites with a small amount of WF are
suggested for manufacturing the WPC products in applications
under coastal weathering. The research of WPCs exposure to
coastal weathering should be further performed and tested
over a year in order to cover year-round weather conditions
and reveal the lifetime of WPC products. Finally, it could be
concluded that post-consumer plastics and wood waste are
possible as raw materials for manufacturing the WPCs, and
2692 Fibers and Polymers 2022, Vol.23, No.9
it is the promising solution for recycling these wastes to
reduce the abundance of wastes in landfills and environmental
conservation.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support
from the Thailand Science Research and Innovation
(Research Grant Code: 324) and the Rajamangala University
of Technology Srivijaya (RMUTSV), Thailand. We would
also like to thank Mr. Suppawit Hongsopa and Mr. Ammarin
Intarasanee for supporting this work and to convey my
thanks to Ms. Iris Leonard from University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill for editing this article.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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