Inclusão de materiais lignocelulósicos na produção de compósitos plásticos

Abstract

Solutions for the production of sustainable plastics have motivated the scientific community to search for new alternatives for the replacement of raw materials from non-renewable sources such as glass fibers. Therefore, plant fibers appear to be a feasible alternative, since they present low cost, suitable mechanical strength, wide availability, besides being renewable. This work aimed to evaluate the replacement of glass fibers by lignocellulosic fiber on plastic composites used in civil construction sectors. The resin used was ortho unsaturated polyester with addition of catalyst peroxide methyl ethyl ketone. Four plant fibers were tested (malva, sugar cane bagasse, eucalypt and pine) with and without chemical modification. The chemical modifications were performed with sodium hydroxide, maleic anhydride and corona treatment. The composites were evaluated by their physical and mechanical properties. The initial results showed the potential of using plant fiber on the production of fiber-reinforce plastic composites, although the modifications were performed physicochemical behavior different for different reinforcing materials. Composite beams mauve presented the best mechanical performance, however physicochemical changes were more efficient for composite particles sugarcane bagasse and pine, where increases were observed in the mean values of some mechanical properties mainly for resistance traction