biocomposite

Polymer composite materials are modern industrial products containing reinforcing fillers obtained from renewable agricultural and plant raw materials. The results of this study showed the effect of a natural filler consisting of walnut shells on the physical and mechanical properties of biomaterials. Using simple technology and an environmentally friendly approach, a formaldehyde-free biomaterial based on polypropylene modified with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), was obtained.

Hessian cloth (jute fabrics) samples were soaked in the alcoholic shellac solution and dried at 333 K for 4 hours. Six layers of shellac treated hessian cloth were heat pressed (373 K for 10 min at 5 MT pressure) to fabricate biocomposite and then its mechanical properties were evaluated. To improve the mechanical properties of the biocomposite, a series of formulations was prepared using varying percentages of urea (0.25 to 30 %) with shellac in methanol; then the composite was fabricated using same parameters.