Effect of Date Palm Fiber Loadings on the Mechanical Properties of High Density Polyethylene/Date Palm Fiber Composites

Abstract

The trend of using natural fibers as green filler in the fabrication of polymer composites is increasing. One of these natural fibers is date palm fiber (DPF). Date palm fiber is considered as agricultural waste in certain areas, such as Middle East countries. Therefore, the utilization of this fiber in the composites fabrication is an interesting topic of research. In the current study, composites were prepared by melt blending DPF with high density polyethylene (HDPE). Five different DPF loadings were studied (i.e. 0, 5, 10, 20, 30 wt%). The effect of the DPF loadings on the mechanical properties and water absorption behavior of the composites were investigated. The tensile test result showed that tensile strengths of all the composites samples were all higher than the neat HDPE with the maximum improvement was achieved at the DPF loading of 5 wt% (i.e. DFC-5), which was about 19.23 MPa (138% higher than the neat HDPE). Whereas, the flexural test result showed that the flexural strength of the composites slightly increased compared to that of the neat HDPE only until 5 wt% DPF loading (i.e. DFC-5). Afterward, the flexural strength of the DFC-10 was equal to that of the neat HDPE, and decreasing with further increase of DPF loadings. Additionally, the water absorption test result showed that the water absorption rate and uptake of water (at equilibrium) increased with the increase of DPF loading.