Evaluation of furniture industry wastes in polymer composite production

Abstract

In this study, composite materials were produced by adding medium density fiberboard (MDF) waste and massive timber waste from furniture industry into PVC polymer matrix at different ratios. For the production of PVC composite materials, each waste material was mixed with PVC polymer and then, they were converted into pellets using twin screw extruder and combined pelletizer. The obtained pellets were molded into composite boards in 250 x 250 x 2 mm dimensions via hot press molding technique. The mechanical properties of the produced composites were compared with each other and with pure PVC based board in order to determine whether they can be used in various applications. The result of the mechanical tests showed that the tensile strength value of 10% wood flour-added PVC composites had the highest tensile strength value of 24.51 MPa. On the other hand, the highest bending strength value of 61.20 MPa was found for composite material with 10% MDF powder.