The Seventh International Conference on Woodfiber-Plastic Composites Effect of Processing Method on Accelerated Weathering of Woodflour-HDPE Composites

Wood-plastic lumber is promoted as being a low-maintenance, high-durability product. How-ever, it has-been shown that wood-plastic compos-ites (WPC) exposed to accelerated weathering may experience a color change and/or loss in me-chanical properties. Different methods of manu-facturing WPCs lead to different surface charac-teristics, which can influence weathering. In this study, 50 percent woodflour-filled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composite samples were ei-ther injection molded, extruded, or extruded and then planed to study material with surface effects removed. Different processing methods produced composites with different surface components. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to chemically show these differences. The surface of planed samples exhibited more of a wood com-ponent than extruded and injection molded com