Characterization of Wood Plastic Composites (WPC) Based on High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Hardwood Sawdust Residues and Butadiene Rubber (Tyre Dust)
Abstract: The depletion of natural resources due to the aggressive industrialisation in the last decades has brought considerable attention to research aimed at developing green and sustainable products using eco-friendly materials. Owing to their improved environmental sustainability and the ensuing decrease in carbon footprint, the utilisation of wood fibres to create biocomposites, known as Wood Plastic Composites (WPCs), is a well-researched topic in contemporary scientific research. The objective of the present investigation was to synthesise Wood Plastic Composites using Ground Tyre Rubber (GTR) along with recycled HDPE and sawdust in five different tyre rubber concentrations (1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, and 3%). The WPCs composite tensile strength and hardness were observed to diminish as the GTR concentration increased, going from 11.9 to 7.63 MPa and 75–70 Shore D, respectively. Additionally, the density was found to increase from 1181 to 1261 kg/m3. For this proportion of GTR, manufacturing conditions have little influence on the composite’s final characteristics in terms of strength and applicability. This work provides a reference for further research in related fields.
Keywords: Wood plastic composite (WPC), ground tyre rubber (GTR), rubber-wood plastic composite (R-WPC), extrusion, high density polyethylene (HDPE)
