Effects of styrene–ethylene–butylene–styrene based additives on the mechanical properties of rice hull/polypropylene composites

The purpose of this study was to improve the mechanical properties (such as tensile, flexural, and impact strength) of rice hull/polypropylene composites, with the use of styrene–ethylene–butylene–styrene copolymer (SEBS) and maleated styrene–ethylene–butylene–styrene copolymer (SEBS‐MA). The results suggested that both types of additives increased the impact strength of the composites significantly as their contents increased. However, only SEBS‐MA improved the tensile and flexural strength of the composites. The results also indicated that the composites with SEBS‐MA consistently showed better mechanical properties than the SEBS counterparts for all the contents. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:1148–1155, 2007.