Properties of Reactive Compatibilized Dika Nutshell Powder filled Recycled Polypropylene (PP)/Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Biocomposites using Maleated Polypropylene and Epoxy Resin Dual Compatibilizers

Dika nutshell powder (DNS) filled – recycled polypropylene (PP)/polyethylene terephthalate (PET) biocomposite was prepared by reactive compatibilization using maleic anhydride-grafted-polypropylene (MAPP) and epoxy resin (EPR) as dual compatibilizers. The mechanical and rheological properties, as well as sorption behavior of the compatibilized biocomposites were studied at filler loadings of 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 phr (parts per hundred parts of resin). PP/PET composition was fixed at 30/70 wt. %. The results show that when MAPP alone was used as compatibilizer, property improvements were not substantial due to the low reactivity between MAPP and PET, which produces insignificant amount of copolymers as coupling agent at the interfaces. Effective compatibilization was achieved by adding epoxy resin (EPR) as suggested by impressive improvement in the properties investigated. Outstanding property improvements, especially oil resistance, tensile and impact strengths (higher values), and elongation at break (lower value) were obtained with increases in EPR and filler loadings.