1. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 1 Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik Ihr Partner für fertige F&E Lösungen Utilizing unbleached cellulosic fibres in polypropylene matrix composites for injection moulding applications C. Burgstaller Second International Conference on Innovative Natural Fibre Composites for Industrial Applications, 15-18. April 2009, Rome

2. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 2 Introduction Aim of the work Materials & Methods Results  materials characterisation  part testing Conclusions Overview

3. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 3 over the last years, interest in using cellulose based fibres increased fibres considered were:  bast fibres, e.g. hemp and flax  leaf fibres, e.g. sisal and abaca  fruit fibres, e.g. coir  wood “fibres” and particles as well as sawdust  and many more all these show several advantages, like renewability, low density, less abrasion of machinery, good price/performance ratio, … Introduction

4. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 4 the main issues with these fibres are  to obtain constant quality  to process them with standard thermoplastic processing machinery fibres, which do not show these disadvantages are pulp fibres from wood these are separated through the pulping process from each other, which results in very uniform fibres (diameter ~ 20µm, length ~ 1 – 5 mm) further advantages  the constant quality is delivered the whole year  certified sustainable fibres Introduction

5. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 5 investigate the reinforcing effects of unbleached pulp fibres in polypropylene compare these composites with ‘standard’ composites like glass or talc reinforces polypropylenes, via:  materials characterisation  part testing Aim of the work

6. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 6 raw materials polypropylene homopolymer (MFR ~ 8 g/10min) compatibilizer (maleic anhydride grafted PP) unbleached Kraft pulp fibres 15, 30 & 45wt% fibre were compounded into the matrix (referred to as ZS15, ZS30 & ZS45) reference materials commercial grades 20wt% of talc (Tv20) in PP 20 & 30wt% glass fibres in PP (GF20 & GF30) Materials & Methods

7. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 7 the compounds and the reference materials were injection moulded to yield: universal test specimen for characterising elastic modulus, tensile and impact strength L-shaped parts for part testing in three different loading modes Materials & Methods

8. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 8 Mechanical characterisation

9. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 9 Mechanical characterisation

10. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 10 Mechanical characterisation

11. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 11 Part testing three different loading modes were realised with this setup to assess different regions of the part, for getting an idea how the materials will perform in application

12. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 12 Part testing

13. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 13 Part testing fibre orientation in nook of the L-shaped part for GF30 (left) & ZS45 (right)

14. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 14 Part testing glass fibre orientation in the skin layer (left) & core layer (right)

15. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 15 Part testing

16. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 16 Part testing

17. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 17 Conclusions in general, pulp fibres are appropriate for reinforcing polypropylene for injection moulding applications although the results from mechanical characterisation are slightly lower than for glass fibre reinforced polypropylene, part testing showed that the wrinkling of the pulp fibres can be advantageous tensile strength and modulus are comparable to the glass fibre reinforced grades, nevertheless there is some work to do in regard to impact modification

18. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 18 our partners in that project European Project IP 515769-2 BioComp for the use of the edge protector mold my co-workers at the TCKT, especially Mr. B. Rathner for the aid in Moldflow simulations the organisers for this conference Thank you for your attention! Acknowledgements

19. Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik ©TCKT, C. Burgstaller, 15-18. April 2009, Rome 19 Contact Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik Dr. Christoph Burgstaller Researcher & Project Leader Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik GmbH Franz-Fritsch-Straße 11 · A-4600 Wels Tel: +43(0)7242/2088-1017 Fax: +43(0)7242/2088-1020 e-mail: christoph.burgstaller@tckt.at www.tckt.at Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik GmbH Franz-Fritsch-Straße 11 A-4600 Wels Tel: +43(0)7242/2088-1000 Fax: +43(0)7242/2088-1020 e-mail: office@tckt.at