Composites from compounding wood fibers with recycled high density polyethylene

Abstract

Abstract The development of composites consisting of wood fibers and recycled plastics offers not only an opportunity to utilize an abundant natural resource but also a means to alleviate the serious plastics disposal problem. In this work, aspen fibers are incorporated into recycled high density polyethylene with a co‐rotating inter‐meshing twin‐screw extruder to study processing‐property relationships. Tensile, impact, and flexural strengths are measured as functions of fiber concentration. The effects of fiber pretreatment, screw configuration, and compounding temperature on the properties of composites are discussed.