ABSTRACT
Rice straw (RS) ber can be utilized as a bio-ller in polypropylene (PP) matrix due to its lignocellulosic characteristics. In this study, rice straw-polypropylene composites were prepared in different ratios 15:85, 25:75, 35:65, 45:55, and 50:50 (RS wt%/PP wt%) by extrusion molding process. Mechanical properties of the prepared composites such as tensile strength (TS), bending strength (BS), impact strength (IS), and elongation at break (Eb%) were investigated. The composite with a ratio of 35:65 (RS/PP) was found to be optimum, which showed good performances with TS = 24 MPa, BS = 52 N/mm2, IS = 1.8 kJ/ mm2, and Eb = 27%. For further improvement, RS was pretreated for surface modication such as mercerization and acetylation to prepare composites with enhanced mechanical properties. From the experimental observations, it was noticed that mercerized rice straw-polypropylene (MRSPP) exhibited superior mechanical properties (TS = 31 MPa and Eb = 37%) than the acetylated RSPP composites. Water uptake, simulated weathering, and soil degradation tests on composites were also carried out.
