Creation of a composite material based on plant components

Introduction.The study is aimed at analyzing the possibility of creating a building composite material based on amylose and amylopectin with the introduction of crushed walnut shells as a filler.Materials and methods of research.To obtain the composite, the following components were used: distilled water, potato starch (NevaReaktiv, St. Petersburg, Russia), acetic acid 70% (NevaReaktiv, St. Petersburg, Russia), highly dispersed walnut shell powder.For this research, we used walnut shells of the Chandler variety (engrafted) collected form the Belgorod region.The composite was produced in several stages.At the first stage, a mixture of starch and walnut shells was added to distilled water, followed by a pre-prepared 9% acetic acid solution.The resulting mixture was thoroughly mixed, after which it was transferred to a stainless-steel bowl and subjected to heat treatment.The resulting mixture was then pressed with solid-phase compaction method at a pressure of 72 MPa.We studied the physical and mechanical characteristic of the resulting composite, its thermal properties, as well as the hydrophobic-hydrophilic balance of the surface.Results and discussion.The resulting composite has good strength characteristics.Flexural strength at break is σ f = 25.85±2.51MPa and σ f = 28.44±5.71MPa for filling 50% weight and 75% weight.Accordingly, they put it on a par with similar composites made from more conventional thermo-and thermoset polymers.The temperature limit for the composite material exploitation has been established, the upper of which can be considered the temperature at which the polymer matrix begins to soften -103.1 °C.Conclusion.The results obtained are crucial for understanding the mechanisms involved in creating composite materials made entirely from plant components, utilizing, among other factors, agro-industrial waste.