Development and Characterization of Wood Flour – Reinforced Polyethylene Matrix Composites

The development of wood plastic composite (WPC) is presented in this paper. The WPC has been formulated from locally available waste materials by using various percentages of recycled polyethylene (PE) as matrix reinforced with various amounts of wood flour (WF). Two different wood flours, iroko and tap rubber, have been used, with particle sizes of 250m and 600m. For each particle size and WF type, four different weight percentages of reinforcement, 0%, 15%, 30% and 45%, were developed, with the corresponding percentages of PE matrix set at 100%, 85%, 70% and 55%. The physical and mechanical tests carried out include water absorption, density, hardness and tensile tests. Experimental results revealed that as the WF percentage increased, the density of the WPC increased initially, and then decreased from a peak value, regardless of the WF species. The tap rubber WF particle sizes of 250m and 600m absorbed more water than the iroko WF of the same composition. The mechanical tests showed that the hardness and tensile strengths of the WPC decreased with increase in the WF loading irrespective of the WF type. The results indicate that 30% WF and 70% PE gave the best formulation for the WPC.