Effect of Compatibilizers on Polypropylene-Based Peanut Shell Flour Composites Reinforced with Nanoclay

Abstract

The improvement of innovative ingredients is on the rise, especially in the automobile, aerospace, aviation, and construction industries. Conventional ingredients are being substituted with nanocomposite ingredients due to their excellent features. In this study, various composites based on polypropylene (PP), peanut shell flour (50 wt% PSF), and nanoclay (Cloisite 30B) were manufactured by melt mixing process followed by injection molded in the presence of maleated PP (PPM) and maleated styrene ethylene-co-butylene styrene block copolymer (SEBSM) as compatibilizing agents at concentrations of 1, 3, and 5 wt%. Subsequently, the effects of the compatibilizer and nanoclay contents (1, 3, and 5 wt%) on the mechanical, morphological, and physical features of nanocomposites were identified. The nanocomposite ingredients were made by
melting the mixture in a twin-screw extruder with a spindle speed of 50 rpm with different region temperatures. Melt mixing is one of the excellent methods for making nanocomposites. This method makes it easy to mix nanoclay and matrix components to manufacture samples for various tests. It was found that the inclusion of PPM to PSF increased the tensile strength of the PP/PSF composite by 59% and the reverse-notch Izod impact strength increased by 151%, leaving the modulus essentially unchanged. In contrast, SEBSM had a larger effect on impact strength but in addition to a smaller effect on tensile strength; modulus was reduced. On adding both PPM and SEBSM to PP/PSF composites, the impact strength enhanced by 2.6 times, but the tensile strength did not decrease. Since nanoclay additions increase the modulus of PP/PSF composites without reducing the impact strength, the use of three additives gives the possibility of making PP/PSF composites with higher modulus and higher impact strength.