| dc.description.abstract | The palm kernel shell (PKS) filled low density polyethylene (LDPE) composites
were prepared by Z-blade mixer at temperature of 180 °C and rotor speed of 50 rpm.
The effects of PKS loading and different types of chemical modifications on the
rheological and thermal properties of the composites were studied. Chemical
modification such as poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid) (PEAA), acrylic acid (AA), 3-
aminopropyltriethoxysilane (3-APE), coconut oil coupling agent (COCA) and ecodegradant
were used in this study. The addition of PKS into LDPE matrix changed the
rheological and thermal properties of the composites. The results showed that increasing
PKS loading had decreased the melt flow index (MFI) values and non-Newtonian index
but increased the melt consistency, viscosity and activation energy of the LDPE/PKS
composites. The increasing temperature had increased the MFI values of composites.
The viscosity of composites that was generated from capillary rheometer decreased with
rise of temperature. The apparent shear stress of the composites increased with apparent
shear rate and PKS loading. The composites with addition of PEAA, AA, COCA and
eco-degradant showed higher MFI values but the composites treated with 3-APE
exhibited lower MFI values than untreated composites. The activation energy for the
composites with PEAA and 3-APE decreased, whereas the activation energy for the
composites with AA, COCA and eco-degradant increased as compared to composites
without chemical modifications. The composites with eco-degradant gave lowest
viscosity, thus eased the composite processing at high filler loading. The thermal
properties of composites showed that addition of PKS had decreased the onset
temperature and the total weight loss of composites. The chemical modifications had
increased the thermal stability of composites, whereas higher onset temperature and
lower total weight loss at high temperature were observed. The FTIR spectra of
composites showed that the functional groups of the composites changed with chemical
modification. | en_US |
