Development of polymer composites reinforced with sugarcane Bagasse fibers and their impact on mechanical properties

Nowadays, sustainable development mainly aims at recycling and decreasing pollution levels in the environment. Many specialists are thinking about developing a novel composite technology using recycled materials. The physical and mechanical characteristics of a composite made of chemically treated sugarcane bagasse fibre are examined in this study. Within the HDPE-PP polymer matrix, bagasse fibre is effectively reinforcing. Treatment with an alkali, the kind of fibre used, and the length of the fibre all impact the composite’s mechanical and physical characteristics. Scanning electron microscopy is used to examine the surface morphology of the composite. The inclusion of fibre at 5 weight per cent and 10 weight per cent, respectively, raised the tensile strength of the polymer mix by 16.24% and 5%. With 5% fibre, the maximum flexural strength may be attained is 42.98 MPa. A 5% fibre composite has 53.4% more flexural strength than polypropylene. Adding 5% bagasse increases the hardness from 81 for the polymer mix to 83. The results show that adding bagasse at 5% and 10% by weight increases the impact strength. There is great promise for using a polymer mix to replace conventional natural fibres, as the composite reaches its mechanical characteristics peak at 5% and 10% bagasse fibre. Because of their biodegradability, low thermal conductivity, high specific strength, and biocompatibility, these composite materials have unique properties applicable to various engineering domains, including medical devices and other engineering applications.