Tensile properties of wood plastic composite manufactured from Agave Cantala Roxb powder reinforced recycled high-density polyethylene.

Wood Plastic Composite (WPC) is a composite resulting from mixing wood powder/fiber with a thermoplastic matrix. This study made WPC by mixing cantala fiber powder with recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) thermoplastic. WPC manufacture is done by a single screw extruder and hot press. The extruder converts a mixture of cantala powder and rHDPE into granules which are then further processed in a hot press into composite sheets. The process temperature in the extruder is varied from 130°C, 140°C, and 150°C. Composite sheet manufacture is carried out at a temperature of 150°C and a pressure of 50 bar for 25 minutes. The effect of extruder temperature on tensile properties, density, and morphology of rHDPE/cantala composites has been studied. The results showed that the extruder temperature 150°C could produce a composite with the highest tensile strength of 29.10 MPa with the lowest density of 1.2 kg/m3. The morphological observations showed that the temperature of 150°C was able to produce a uniform mixture of rHDPE and cantala powder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]