Effect of Zeolite Mineral on the Formulation of a Wood-plastic Composite

The present work studies the positive or negative effect of zeolite mineral on the tensile and flexural mechanical behavior of a wood-plastic composite. Eight different blends were developed, the components used were wood flour (WF), polypropylene (PP), zeolite (Z) and maleic anhydride modified polypropylene (MAPP) as coupling agent. The eight blends were made using a counter-rotating twinscrew extruder, while the specimens were produced on a plastic injection molding machine with a 60ton clamping capacity. The standards used to determine the tensile and flexural mechanical properties were ASTM 638 and ASTM 790, respectively. Ten repetitions of each mixture were carried out. In addition, a reference (100% polypropylene) was used to compare the results obtained to determine whether the effect of using the zeolite mineral generated positive or negative results in the compounds obtained. Both studies showed that as the proportion of zeolite increases in the blend, the tensile and flexural properties are affected. However, the mixture (M7) with proportions in its components of, 34.375% WF, 55.875% PP, 6.75 % Z and 3% MAPP, showed an increase in the tensile and flexural mechanical properties, indicating a strong relationship between the components that integrate the wood-plastic composite (WPC), mainly between wood and mineral.