2114 Fabrication of lightweight material made from kenaf and polypropylene

Abstract

Lightweight composite made from kenaf and polypropylene fiber was fabricated with a press forming. The effects of number of layer, holding time and weight fraction on flexural modulus were investigated. The flexural modulus increased with increasing the number of layer and holding temperature. The increase of the number of layer contributed homogeneous PP dispersion because kenaf fibers were appressed each other and prevented PP from shrinking during heating. The increase of holding temperature contributed well wetting between kenaf and PP. These observations were revealed with SEM microphotographs. Moreover, the flexural modulus of composites showed at 43-50 percent kenaf weight fraction. This result indicated porous composites lower the optimized weight fraction than solid composites.