Thermoplastic composites of polypropylene/biopolymer blends and wood flour: Parameter optimization with fuzzy-grey relational analysis

In this study, blends of polypropylene (PP) with polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) biopolymers and wood flour were prepared, and Fuzzy and Grey Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods were used to determine the blends with the best properties. The physical, mechanical, thermal, structural, and morphological properties of the composites were determined. The obtained results showed that PLA and wood flour generally improved the mechanical properties of the PP composites. However, wood flour did not exhibit a homogeneous distribution in the matrix. The density of the composites generally increased with the addition of both PLA and PHB. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the crystallinity index of the composites generally decreased due to the low crystallinity of biopolymers. Thermal stability did not change with the addition of PLA and PHB, but the addition of wood increased thermal stability. According to the MCDM analysis, both Fuzzy and Grey results were similar.