Influence of processed waste bagasse fiber-stone dust-6063 aluminum alloy particle on the characteristics of hybrid reinforced recycled HDPE composites

A novel hybrid composites material was developed through the compression moulding technique by adding bagasse fiber, stone-dust and 6063 aluminum alloy (Al-Mg-Si) particles to recycled high density polyethylene (rHDPE) matrix. The bagasse fibers were treated with 0.5M Sodium Hydroxide solution at a temperature of 50 0C for 2hours while the stone-dust and 6063 aluminum alloy (Al-Mg-Si) particles were sieved to particle sizes of ˂75 µm and ˂250 µm, respectively before blending with the matrix. The work investigates comparatively, the influence of bagasse fiber-stone dust (hybrid-of-2) and bagasse fiber-stone dust-Al-Mg-Si particles (hybrid-of-3) on composite formation systems for reinforced rHDPE composites. The properties of recycled HDPE and rHDPE composites were thoroughly investigated through selected mechanical properties, wear resistance and thermal conductivity tests. The results showed that the addition of bagasse fiber-stone dust-Al-Mg-Si alloy particles improve the mechanical, wear and thermal properties of the composites. The ultimate tensile strength was enhanced by 39% having a UTS value of 32 MPa, tensile modulus by 13% with a value of 98 MPa and wear resistance by 53% with a value of 0.8 g. SEM images showed that these reinforcements blended more properly when lower contents were added. This was responsible for the enhancement observed in the mechanical properties of the hybrid-of-3 reinforced composite. Thus, composites from combination of waste materials can be projected for the development of new materials thereby reducing the creation of new ones.