Novel “green” polymer composites were successfully synthesized from pine needles and a phenolic matrix by compression molding technique. Various weight contents (10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%) of the pine needles were incorporated in the polymer matrix. Reinforcing of the polymer matrix with pine needles was done in the form of short fibers 3 mm in length. The effect of the fiber weight contents on the mechanical properties of the polymer was investigated. Thermal analysis (TGA/DTA/DTG) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study the thermal stability and morphology of the composite systems respectively.
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Thakur et al. (2010) studied this question.