Preparation and Evaluation of Thermal Properties of Composites Based on Polypropylene Reinforced with Garlic Husk Particles (GHP)

Abstract

The use of biowaste materials as additives in polymeric matrices has generated interest. Garlic is a seed that has wide application areas, not only in the food industry, because it has good bactericidal and antioxidant properties. Polypropylene (PP) is a commodity polymer that has a wide range of applications, including containers, construction materials, automotive parts, domestic issues, etc. In the present work, the obtaining of composite materials based on a Polypropylene with a medium melt flow index as a matrix and as a reinforcing agent garlic husk particles (GHP). The addition of GHP in different contents was evaluated (2 to 10 PHR), and the composites were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and X-ray diffraction (×RD). According to the results, the thermal stability of PP-GHP decreases with the GHP, in addition to the results of DSC and XRD, that showed that the crystallinity of PP-GHP composites was higher compared to the pristine PP. DMA results allow us to identify that the addition of GHP generates a reinforcing effect on PP matrix, which means that this waste material can be considered a bioadditive with positive effects on polymeric matrices.

Keywords

• garlic husk
• bioadditive
• polypropylene
• crystallinity
• thermal stability
• rigidity