Abstract

Composite materials are characterized by a number of physical and mechanical properties that make them without rival in some applications requiring low weight and suitable strength. The interest in natural fibers reinforced composite materials is significantly growing due to their contribution in reducing long range environmental side- effects, minimizing the consumption of industrial raw materials and their low cost. The present work covered the preparation and study of PP- LLDPE- Coconut shell powder composite materials, the determination of the optimal preparation conditions and the characterization of their physical and mechanical properties. The results of this work showed that the optimal conditions for the preparation of these composite materials were mixing at 170 ºC and 50 rpm rotation speed and pressing at 170 ºC and 20 tons pressure. The results confirmed also that coconut shell powder content can be increased up to 50 wt. % while preserving a suitable range of mechanical properties where tensile strength varied between 10- 30 MPa. This confirm the possibility to vary these composite constituents according to the requirement of the envisaged application without using compatibilizers and interfacial promoting bonding agents (silane compounds) between coconut shell powder and PP- LLDPE polymer blends.