Characteristics of Reprocessed Wood Plastic Composites

Wood Plastic Composites (WPCs) are green materials having several applications in different industri-al sectors such as building and construction, automotive industry, and consumer products. This thesis is an experimental study on reprocessing wood plastic composites (WPC) and its effect on various properties of the composites. The feasibility of using pre-mixed composites to produce WPCs is evaluated in this study. WPCs con-taining 10, 20 and 30 % of wood fiber were prepared by reprocessing a WPC pre-mix containing 50 wt% of wood fiber. The tensile strength of reprocessed WPCs slightly increased at fiber loading of 20 wt%. Elongation and impact strength of reprocessed WPCs decreased by increasing fiber content. Whereas, tensile modulus of composites increased by increasing fiber content. The mechanical test results indicated that additives are required to achieve better strength of reprocessed WPC. It was interesting to note that the water uptake in WPCs containing 50 % wood fiber was almost like those reported for commercially available WPC decking. The burning test indicated the feasibility of using studied wood plastic composites as interior parts in the vehicles