Tamarind seed powder as filler in polypropylene and its impact on the mechanical and biodegradability of the composites

Sucheta Mohanty; Shubham Shukla; Debasis Senapati; Gourav Sahoo; Debanshu Sahoo; Shyama Prasad Mohanty

doi:10.1515/ipp-2024-0063

Article

Tamarind seed powder as filler in polypropylene and its impact on the mechanical and biodegradability of the composites

Sucheta Mohanty , Shubham Shukla , Debasis Senapati , Gourav Sahoo , Debanshu Sahoo and Shyama Prasad Mohanty

Published/Copyright: November 15, 2024

Published by

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Submit Manuscript Author Information

From the journal International Polymer Processing Volume 40 Issue 1

Abstract

In the present work, agro-industrial waste has been blended with plastic waste to fabricate value added product and also reduce the environmental pollution. Tamarind seed powder (TSP) has been melt mixed with polypropylene (PP) waste in various proportions to prepare composite sheets. The composite specimens have been evaluated for their tensile strength, impact strength and hardness. In composites, highest tensile strength of 20.6 MPa and Young’s modulus of 953.3 MPa have been achieved with 30 wt% and 40 wt% of TSP, respectively. Composites have lower strength but better hardness than PP. Maximum hardness of 69.7 HRL has been obtained in composites with 40 wt% TSP. Poor interfacial bonding as observed in fractured specimens is responsible for lower strength in composites. However, the composite specimen has better thermal stability than PP. Weight loss has been observed in composite specimens with higher loading of TSP due to degradation of TSP upon subjecting the specimens to biodegradability tests. Based on the results obtained in the study, 40 wt% of TSP in the composites conveys suitable mechanical and thermal properties.

Keywords: polypropylene; tamarind seed powder; melt mixing; tensile strength; impact strength; biodegradation

Corresponding author: Shyama Prasad Mohanty, Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET): Institute of Petrochemicals Technology (IPT), B-25, C.N.I. Complex, Patia, PIN-751024, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, E-mail: sp.ceramic@gmail.com

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support of Ms. Meghalin Mishra and Mr. Tuhinanshu Pattnaik during preparation of samples and Mr. Bapuji Mohapatra, IISc Bangalore for his support during SEM analysis.

Research ethics: Not applicable.
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.
Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.
Research funding: None declared.
Data availability: Not applicable.

References

Babu, S.R., Karthikeyan, S., Senthilkumar, P., and Koodalingam, B. (2020). Mechanical behavior on tamarind & dates seeds powder, prawn shell powder with Arundo donax L. leaf reinforced epoxy composite. Mater. Today: Proc. 33: 3031–3036, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.03.192.Search in Google Scholar

Butylina, S., Martikka, O., and Kärki, T. (2011). Physical and mechanical properties of wood-polypropylene composites made with virgin and/or recycled polypropylene. Polym.-Plast. Technol. Eng. 50: 1040–1046, https://doi.org/10.1080/03602559.2011.557823.Search in Google Scholar

Danjaji, I.D., Nawang, R., Ishiaku, U.S., Ismail, H., and Mohd Ishak, Z.A.M. (2002). Degradation studies and moisture uptake of sago-starch-filled linear low-density polyethylene composites. Polym. Test. 21: 75–81, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0142-9418(01)00051-4.Search in Google Scholar

Das, O., Babu, K., Shanmugam, V., Sykam, K., Tebyetekerwa, M., Neisiany, R.E., Försth, M., Sas, G., Gonzalez-Libreros, J., Capezza, A.J., et al.. (2022). Natural and industrial wastes for sustainable and renewable polymer composites. Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 158: 112054, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.112054.Search in Google Scholar

Gopanna, A., Mandapati, R.N., Thomas, S.P., Rajan, K., and Chavali, M. (2019). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) of polypropylene (PP)/cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) blends for qualitative and quantitative analysis. Polym. Bull. 76: 4259–4274, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-018-2599-0.Search in Google Scholar

Hoang, T.Q.T., Lagattu, F., and Brillaud, J. (2008). Natural fiber-reinforced recycled polypropylene: microstructural and mechanical properties. J. Reinf. Plast. Compos. 29: 209–217, https://doi.org/10.1177/0731684408096931.Search in Google Scholar

Jeyaprakash, P., Arul Marcel Moshi, A., Rathinavel, S., and Ganesh Babu, A. (2021). Mechanical property analysis on powderized tamarind seed-palm natural fiber hybrid composites. Mater. Today: Proc. 43: 1919–1923, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.10.930.Search in Google Scholar

Karunakaran, K., Pugazhenthi, R., Anbuchezhiyan, G., Saravanan, R., and Reddy, M.V. (2022). Experimental investigations on synthesis and characterization of tamarind seed powder reinforced bio-composites. Mater. Today: Proc. 64: 760–764, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.05.210.Search in Google Scholar

Kim, M.W., Lee, S.H., and Youn, J.R. (2010). Effects of filler size and content on shrinkage and gloss of injection molded BT/PET/talc composites. Polym. Compos. 31: 1020–1027, https://doi.org/10.1002/pc.20888.Search in Google Scholar

Kiruthika, A.V., Priyadarzini, T.R.K., and Veluraja, K. (2012). Preparation, properties and application of tamarind seed gum reinforced banana fibre composite materials. Fibers Polym. 13: 51–56, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12221-012-0051-x.Search in Google Scholar

Kumar, T.S.M., Rajini, N., Tian, H., Rajulu, A.V., Jappes, J.T.W., and Siengchin, S. (2017). Development and analysis of biodegradable poly(propylene carbonate)/tamarind nut powder composite films. Int. J. Polym. Anal. Charact. 22: 415–423, https://doi.org/10.1080/1023666x.2017.1313483.Search in Google Scholar

Kumar, T.S.M., Rajini, N., Jawaid, M., Rajulu, A.V., and Jappes, J.T.W. (2018). Preparation and properties of cellulose/tamarind nut powder green composites. J. Nat. Fibres 15: 11–20, https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2017.1302386.Search in Google Scholar

Kumar, R., Haq, M.I.U., Raina, A., and Anand, A. (2019). Industrial applications of natural fibre reinforced polymer composites – challenges and opportunities. Int. J. Sustainable Eng. 12: 212–220, https://doi.org/10.1080/19397038.2018.1538267.Search in Google Scholar

Kumar, G.S., Rathan, A., Bandhu, D., Reddy, B.M., Rao, H.R., Swami, S., Saxena, K.K., Eldin, S.M., and Prashanth, N.N.A. (2023). Mechanical and thermal characterization of coir/hemp/polyester hybrid composite for lightweight applications. J. Mater. Res. Technol. 26: 8242–8253, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2023.09.144.Search in Google Scholar

Maiti, S.N. and Sharma, K.K. (1992). Studies on polypropylene composites filled with talc particles. J. Mater. Sci. 27: 4605–4613, https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01165994.Search in Google Scholar

Naik, S., Halemani, B., and Raju, G.U. (2019). Investigation of the mechanical properties of tamarind seed particles reinforced epoxy composites. AIP Conf. Proc. 2057: 020023.10.1063/1.5085594Search in Google Scholar

Nourbakhsh, A., Karegarfard, A., Ashori, A., and Nourbakhsh, A. (2009). Effects of particle size and coupling agent concentration on mechanical properties of particulate-filled polymer composites. J. Thermoplast. Compos. Mater. 23: 169–174, https://doi.org/10.1177/0892705709340962.Search in Google Scholar

Nunez, A.J., Sturm, P.C., Kenny, J.M., Aranguren, M.I., Marcovich, N.E., and Reboredo, M.M. (2003). Mechanical characterization of polypropylene–wood flour composites. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 88: 1420–1428, https://doi.org/10.1002/app.11738.Search in Google Scholar

Prasanthi, P.P., Raghavender, V., Venu Madhav, V.V., Sonia, P., Chaitanya, C.S., Bandhu, D., Saxena, A., and Abdullaev, S.S. (2023). Experimental and simulation study for mechanical properties characterisation of green natural reinforced composites. Int. J. Interact. Des. Manuf. 18: 3459–3471, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12008-023-01695-w.Search in Google Scholar

Srinag, T., Kumar, R.S., Srinivas, C.L., Singh, B., Prasanthi, P.P., Venu Madhav, V.V., Bandhu, D., Saxena, A., and Abdullaev, S.S. (2023). Flexural and impact response of bamboo and pineapple leaf fiber reinforced composites using experimental and numerical techniques. Int. J. Interact. Des. Manuf. 18: 3383–3395, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12008-023-01564-6.Search in Google Scholar

Received: 2024-05-06

Accepted: 2024-06-27

Published Online: 2024-11-15

Published in Print: 2025-03-26

You are currently not able to access this content.

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ipp-2024-0063

Keywords for this article

polypropylene; tamarind seed powder; melt mixing; tensile strength; impact strength; biodegradation