Effect of organoclay platelets on the mechanical properties of wood-plastic composites formulated with virgin and recycled polypropylene

This study investigated the effects of organoclay platelet contents (0, 3 and 5 wt%) and polypropylene type (virgin and recycled) on the mechanical properties of polypropylene/wood flour composites. Composite samples were made by melt compounding and consequent injection moulding. The tensile, flexural and impact properties of resultant composites were determined. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of composites with 3 and 5% nanoclay content was also conducted. The results indicated that tensile and flexural properties of the composites increased with the addition of nanoclay particles up to 3 wt% and decreased thereafter. The impact strength of the composites, however, decreased with the incorporation of nanoclay. The mechanical properties of the recycled polypropylene-based nanocomposites were statistically comparable with those based on virgin polypropylene. XRD analysis revealed that the degree of intercalation in the nanocomposites containing 3% nanoclay was higher than in those containing 5%. Based on these results, it can be concluded that recycled polypropylene could be used instead of virgin polypropylene in the production of value-added products with no significant adverse effects on the mechanical properties.