The effect of Maleic Anhydride Grafted Polypropylene on Thermo-Oxidative ageing of paper sludge filled Polypropylene/Ethylene Propylene Diene terpolymer composites

Abstract

Paper sludge filled polypropylene (PP)/ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM) composites were developed in this study. The paper sludge was used as filler in PP/EPDM blends and maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (MAPP) were used as a compatibilizer. The effect of thermo-oxidative ageing on mechanical properties and morphology of composites were investigated. The results show the tensile strength and elongation at break decrease but the Young’s Modulus increases with the addition of compatibilizer, this can be due to improvements in the wetting of filler surface and better filler matrix interaction. Scanning electron microscopy was used to investigate the mode of failure of the PP/EPDM/PS composites. The addition of MAPP shows the enhancement in interfacial bonding between the filler and PP/EPDM composites as evidenced from scanning electron microscopy studies.