Foams and Wood Composite Foams Produced by Rotomolding

Abstract

In this work, a simple method is presented to produce foams and wood composite foams by rotational molding. As a special case, wood flour (maple) / linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) was used to study the effect of chemical blowing agent (CBA) concentration (0-0.6%wt.) and wood content (0-20%wt.). From the samples produced, a complete characterization was performed including density, morphology, and mechanical properties in tension and flexion. The results show that tensile and flexural moduli increased with wood content, while tensile strength and elongation at break decreased. The optimum wood content was found to be around 20%wt. for the composites and around 0.4% wt. CBA for the range of conditions studied.