Bd. Park et Jj. Balatinecz, A COMPARISON OF COMPOUNDING PROCESSES FOR WOOD-FIBER THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES/, Polymer composites, 18(3), 1997, pp. 425-431
This study was carried out to investigate the feasibility of developin
g a continuous compounding process for wood-fiber/thermoplastic compos
ites using the Szego mill, a unique, high speed planetary ring-roller
grinding mill. Prior to compounding, air-dried sawdust was ground to e
valuate the grinding effect in the mill. As the feed rate and the mill
speed increased, the particle size increased and decreased, respectiv
ely. Sawdust particles were successfully compounded in linear low-dens
ity polyethylene using the Szego mill without any major heat applicati
on. A Gelimat mixer, used for the compounding of wood fiber through a
high-shear thermokinetic mixing process, was also employed for compari
son. Composites with 30 wt% wood fiber were prepared by both compoundi
ng processes, and their mechanical properties were evaluated. The use
of a compatibilizer in compounding improved the mechanical properties
of the composites regardless of the compounding process. The composite
s prepared by Szego mill compounding showed comparable strength proper
ties with their counterparts from the Gelimat mixer. Power consumption
during mill compounding was in the range of twin-screw extruder proce
ssing.