Glass Fiber Goes Green

Suriana Rofie of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, UiTM, Malaysia compared the properties of glass fiber reinforced with polyester composites from (EFB) of oil palm.

Changing social and economic trends increase the pressure on the forest products industry to produce green products. It is especially more pressing as we see that we are in the midst of scarcity of resources but having to respond to our ever changing needs. Thus Suriana Rofie of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, UiTM Shah Alam compared the properties of glass fiber which was reinforced with polyester composites from (EFB) of oil palm. She named her product Hybrid EFB Fiber with Glass Fiber Reinforced Polyester Composites (Hybrid Composites).

In her experiment, the main raw materials was the empty fruit bunches of oil palm (Elaesis guineensis), which was built into of a mat. The EFB mat fiber was overlaid with glass fiber, placed both on top and bottom faces (of the mat). The resin adhesive used was a mixture of polyester and 3% of methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP). The resinated mat was cold pressed for about one hour to consolidate. The hybrid then was tested with three different ratios of EFB and Polyester - 20:80, 30:70 and 40:60. Its physical properties were evaluated in the form of water absorption and thickness swelling, whilst mechanical properties were static bending, tensile and impact. The specimens were tested according to ASTM D790-ISO 178, ASTM D638-ISO 527 and ASTM D6110-02-ISO 180.

The results obtained showed that the samples made from EFB and Polyester at a ratio of 30:70 attained the highest values among all mechanical properties tests. Whilst for physical properties, specimens of EFB and Polyester 20:80 ratio were more dimensionally stable. It can be concluded that EFB is suitable to be used as a new potential raw material for Hybrid Natural Fiber Composite manufacturing.

For manufacturers, this study is important as this can be another means to overcome the shortage of solid wood other than to reduce the price of raw materials. Suggested for future research, Suriana said that one could also experiment on wood polymer composites, natural fiber reinforced composites or other bio-based materials.

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Published: 24 Mar 2010

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