The effects of cassava peel content on mechanical properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composites

Abstract

Polymer matrix composites (PMCs) have garnered significant attention in both academic and industrial research due to the growing demand for environmentally friendly and biodegradable materials. This study focuses on exploring alternative options to synthetic materials by investigating composites of polymers with natural fibers. Specifically, the influence of varying cassava peel powder concentrations as a filler on the tensile, flexural, and hardness properties of pure low-density polyethylene (LDPE) samples was examined. The natural fiber, cassava peel, underwent treatment with a 2% NaOH solution before being compounded with LDPE on a two-roll mill to create a biocomposites. The compounded samples were moulded into uniform thickness (3mm) rectangular shapes using a compression moulding machine at a pressure of 4MPa for 5 minutes. This process was repeated for different filler concentrations. The mechanical properties of the produced composites, including tensile strength, flexural strength, and hardness, were then tested. The results showed that the tensile strength initially increased from 17.83 MPa to 20.20 MPa and subsequently decreased at filler concentrations of 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% to 14.7 MPa, 8.58 MPa, 6.12 MPa, and 5.26 MPa, respectively. Flexural strength decreased with increasing cassava peel powder loading, ranging from 22.22 MPa (0% loading) to 6.22 MPa (50% loading). Hardness also exhibited an increasing trend with fiber loading, starting at 10.9 HV (0% loading) and reaching 32.62 HV at 50% loading.