Advancing the technology development for better quality wood plastic composites: process ability study

Abstract

Wood Plastic Composites (WPC) have advantages over natural wood such as improved stiffness, recyclability, and waste minimization. However, issues such as the difficulty of processing WPC with conventional methods, volatile emission from the wood and the composites’ lack of strength must be addressed. A system for continuous extrusion of rectangular profiles of WPC was developed and some critical processing strategies were identified. The use of a lubricant and a calibrator also improved the profile extrusion of WPC. In this work, glass was also added to improve WPC’s mechanical strength. Generally, a glass content of 2.5% appears to improve the properties but further addition does not have a significant effect. Foaming of WPC, which can enhance their properties, was investigated through studying the effect of heating time and temperature on void fraction and cell density.