The technology of wood-plastics composites includes concepts of compatibility and processability, with important challenges to optimize grade formulations, processing and stabilization of the composite system. Owing to the low thermal stability in wood flour processing, commodities such as polyolefins, styrene and polyvinylchloride represent the large majority of the thermoplastics employed in cellulosic composites. High impact polystyrene (HIPS) is a versatile thermoplastic as a result of variations in composition and morphology of the rubber dispersed phase in the styrenic matrix. In addition to its relatively low processing temperature, such characteristics make HIPS a suitable polymer for wood-plastic composite applications as an optimum stiffness-toughness balance can be achieved by fine control of HIPS morphological parameters and the composite formulation. In the present study, commercial grades of HIPS with different flow index and particle size distribution were used in the preparation of wood-plastic composites. The mechanical properties and the heat distortion temperatures of the composites are discussed in terms of the HIPS characteristics and the filler content in the composite. By simply applying the rule of mixtures, it was shown that owing to their relatively low specific gravity, the wood waste flour might be cost-effective in replacing mineral fillers or glass fibers in plastic composites with a better performance in terms of specific strength and rigidity. Electron microscopy analysis of fractured surfaces was used to illustrate wood flour dispersion, wettability and matrix-filler interactions.
Composites; cellulosic fillers; HIPS; wood-waste flour; wood-filler interface
