Accelerated aging of WPCs Based on Polypropylene and Birch plywood Sanding Dust

Abstract

Abstract A lot of researchers are closely related with natural, lignocellulose fibre containing bio-composites production and studies. Various of polymer matrices, mainly polyolefins, combinations with natural fibres as a reinforcement are used. Our studies are focused on polypropylene based bio-composites containing birch plywood production by-product sanding dust (PSD) accelerated weathering processes. The obtained results showed the following sight. After the aging the surface of all samples had faded, the changes of the gloss (decreasing) and of the whiteness degree (increasing) also had taken place, but microhardness of the surface of specimens significantly has decreased. The tensile strength and modulus of the samples after UV aging diminished about 30–35%. That indicates to the changes not only in the surface layers of polymer but also inside of the polymer structure. The FTIR measurements showed that during UV aging process occurs significant changes of chemical structure of the weathered surface of all samples. DSC measurements showed an increase of degree of crystallinity of the weathered polypropylene composites after the first heating due to the recrystallization process in the polypropylene matrix and a small decreasing after second heating. The melting temperatures of all composites after UV aging considerably diminish up to 30°C.