Wood Flour / Polypropylene Composites

In this paper, wood flour and polypropylene were used to make wood flour/ polypropylene composites by means of the extrusion pelletization and injection moulding. Coupling agent was added to improve adhesion of the composites. The paper assessed the effects of polypropylene type, wood flour content, wood flour size, dehydration reaction time and temperature, and coupling agent content on the mechanical properties of wood flour/polypropylene composites. The best processing technology of composites was shown as follows: polypropylene type was 225; wood flour content was 30%; wood flour size was upwards 80 mesh; coupling agent content was 1 %; the dehydration reaction between wood flour and coupling agent was finished after 5 hours at 110℃. The mechanical properties of treated wood flour/polypropylene composites were increased apparently, compared with the untreated wood/polypropylene composites. It was proved by IR, XRD and SEM that the coupling agent could improve the adhesion between wood flour and polypropyplene.The thermal oxidative ageing properties and rheological properties of wood flour/ polypropylene composites were studied, then the results showed the tensile strength of composites dropped along with the increasing of ageing time; the apparent viscosity of composites increased with augment of wood flour content; the apparent viscosity of composites decreased with addition of the coupling agent, which couldn't still be as low as the apparent viscosity of pure polypropylene. Wood flour/polypropylene composites were filled by four kinds of anti-static agents in order to increase the anti-static properties. The results showed the carbon black had more beneficial effects than any other anti-stastic agents. When carbon black content was 5%, the best anti-stastic properties and mechanical properties of composites could be gotten.