Abstract:
Due to an increasing amount of household plastic waste, sustainable plastics waste management systems
have become increasingly important. We report on the feasibility of using recycled polypropylene (PP) from the
commonly used plastics to process composite panels for different applications. The plastics were obtained from
polymer with Resin Identification Code (RIC) 5, for the PP. The samples were melted and then moulded using an
injection molding machine. Other samples were mixed with different wood flour sizes and an investigation carried
on the strength of wood-plastic composites (WPCs). The wood flour particle size of 0.268 µm and 1.23 µm were
compounded with the plastic at a ratio of 1: 9. Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectra analysis, indicated a
decline in the absorption peak of the spectrum for the smallest wood flour particles after the alkali treatment as
compared to large particles. The wood flour of particle size of 0.268 µm had the highest ultimate tensile strength
values of 15.36 MPa, while wood flour of particle cross-section size of 1.23 µm had the lower ultimate tensile
strength values of 10.71 MPa. Analysis showed that as the cross-section size of the wood flour particles within the
WPCs decreased, there was a concurrent increase in the ultimate tensile strength of the material. The investigation
presents empirical evidence establishing a direct positive relationship between the strength characteristics of wood
plastic composite and the particle dimensions of the constituent wood particles. This has been shown to be due to
interfacial bonding and effectiveness of load transfer within the composite material.
