Green Eggshell/Polypropylene Biocomposite
Norihan Yahya1, Syuhada Mohd Tahir2, Nor Habibah Mohd Rosli3
1Norihan Yahya, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Pahang, Malaysia.
2Syuhada Mohd Tahir, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Pahang, Malaysia.
3Nor Habibah Mohd Rosli, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Pahang, Malaysia.
Manuscript received on 28 April 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 10 May 2019 | Manuscript Published on 17 May 2019 | PP: 386-389 | Volume-8 Issue-1S May 2019 | Retrieval Number: A10560581S19/2019©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Polypropylene is a versatile polymer used in various consumer products from automotive to home appliances. Polypropylene is usually synthesized from petrochemical-based raw material which makes their waste hazardous to the environment. Eggshell, on the other hand, is highly abundant biodegradable agricultural waste that contains more than 90% calcium carbonate, a common filler used in polymer. This study investigated the effect of adding eggshell as biofiller in polypropylene matrix on its mechanical and thermal properties. The eggshell was first cleaned, heated, grinded, and sieved to 212 µm particle size. Then, the eggshell powder was mixed with propylene using mixer machine at 9:1, 7:3 and 5:5 ratio of polypropylene-to-eggshell. Finally, the composite mixtures were molded using hot press followed by cold press machine. The biocomposite samples were analyzed using Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and tensile test. FTIR and TGA results proved the presence of calcium carbonate from the eggshell in the sample. The optimum mechanical properties obtained was for 7:3 polypropylene-to-eggshell sample with tensile strain (extension) of 0.01658 mm/mm and tensile stress of 12.714 MPa. The findings of this study showed eggshell as a feasible biofiller alternative that gives good mechanical properties complimented with major environmental advantage due to eggshell waste utilization.
Keywords: Polymer Composite, Polypropylene, Eggshell.
Scope of the Article: Composite Materials