Environmentally correct composites fabricated from industrial wastes are being increasingly appraised both as a solution for the great amount of garbage generated by our society as well as a cheaper alternative for conventional materials, mainly those used in civil construction and furniture. In the present work, the properties of composites fabricated from used sackcloth fabric, made of jute fibers, as reinforcement for a polyethylene waste matrix, were investigated. Composite plates with up to 40 wt.% of jute fabric were obtained by hot press molding together with polyethylene particles. The results showed an expressive increase in the composite mechanical strength as a function of the weight percent of jute fabric up to 30%. A cost/benefit analysis displayed a great potential for these composites to replace some commonly used products.
Composite; jute sackcloth; polyethylene; mechanical properties
