Manufacturing and Characterization of Red algae fiber/Polypropylene Biocomposites

홍조류섬유보강 폴리프로필렌 바이오복합재료의 제조 및 특성 분석

The bleached red algae fiber(BRAF) showed very similar crystallinity to the cellulose, furthermore, it has higher thermal decomposition temperature than that of the microcrystalline cellulose(MCC). Polypropylene biocomposites reinforced with BRAF have been fabricated with various BRAF contents by compression molding method and their mechanical and thermomechanical properties have been studied. The mechanical strength as tensile, impact and flexural modulus of BRAF/PP biocomposites were gradually improved with increasing the BRAF content, and thermal property which against the thermal expansion was markdly improved, especially. These results are compared with chopped non-woody fibers as Henequen or Kenaf, BRAF was more effective for fabrication of biocomposites reinforced small-sized fibers. The red algae fiber reinforced biocomposites has the applicability such as electronics, biodegradable products and small-structure composites.