Fibre-plastic composites, environmental

In this paper, all the blends and composites are designated by the type of matrix (G for the neat nylon, D for the 8 wt % rubber-modified nylon and N for the 20 wt % rubber-modified nylon), the concentration of fibres and the type of fibre/matrix interface (A or B). As an example, a material designed DlOB is a ternary blend made of DZ matrix and 10 wt% of type B fibres. After drying the specimens for 24 hours at 100°C, they were stored in plastic bags inside a desiccator. In comparison with freshly injection moulded samples, the moisture content in the specimens ready for mechanical testing is about 2 wt%. All the mechanical tests were conducted in an environmental chamber in controlled conditions a temperature of 20°C under a continuous argon flow. 

Reinforced plastics, sometimes called polymer composites, consist of reinforcing fibres or particles embedded in a polymeric matrix. It is now recognized that a third component, called an interphase region, can exist at the interface between the fibre and resin. The properties of the interphase are probably not constant but vary to give a graded region. Thus the environmental durability of a composite material is a complex interplay between the various microstructural aspects of the material, which are ... 

In spite of these restrictions and the uncertainties and the information gaps mentioned above, the body of analysed work overwhelmingly indicates that biopolymers offer important environmental benefits today and for the future. This applies to all three studied groups, i.e. to bio-based plastics, biobased non-plastics (with one type of lacquers as the only representative), and composites based on natural fibres. 

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