Advances in oil palm shell fibre reinforced thermoplastic and thermoset polymer composites

Oil palm shell (OPS), one of the most abundantly produced solid bio-wastes in Southeast Asia, is yielded by crushing the oil palm kernel during palm oil extraction in the palm oil mills. Approaches have been devoted to developing the use of OPS as reinforcing filler in polymer composites to enhance the functional properties of composites. For OPS to be effective for reinforcing materials, its role and beneficial effects on the improvement of composites’ properties need to be investigated. However, not many studies have discussed the potentials of incorporating OPS in thermoplastic and thermoset polymer composite applications. This paper summarises the enhancement of composite characteristics, including physical, mechanical, thermal, water barrier and biodegradability properties. Properties of OPS that make it a good candidate as a reinforcing filler, such as tensile strength, impact strength, elongation, Young’s modulus, morphological and water absorption, are discussed in detail. In addition, the application of its derivative, challenges, and outlook are also discussed.