Swelling, Thermal and Mechanical Characterizations of High-Density Polyethylene/ Recycled Biochar Composites

Abstract

The application of recycled natural materials waste as biochar fillers in polymer compositescan be observed as a sustainable approach. This article aims to study recycled biochar (R-BCH)improvements on the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix properties. A series of composites wasdeveloped with a different loading varying from 0 to 10 wt.% of R-BCH, using a twin-screw extruderfollowed by compression molding. The results showed that the addition of 3-10% of R-BCH in pure HDPEled to an increase in the tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and a decrease of elongation at break.Furthermore, the differential scanning calorimetry analysis (DSC) results showed that incorporating RBCH into pure HDPE improved thermal properties because interfaces between R-BCH and pure HDPEcaused decreased brittle behavior and enhanced the high crosslinking of pure HDPE.