Study of utilizing recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in wood-plastic composite

The present study investigated the application of recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in wood-plastic composite. Wood flour having the particle size of 150 mesh, was produced from a mixture of different hardwoods and used as filler at three levels of 30, 40, and 50% based on the dry-weight of the composite. Three types of PVC were used as the matrix (100% virgin PVC, 100% recycled PVC, and a mixture of the equal weight of virgin and recycled PVC). Maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) was used as the coupling agent at a fixed dosage of 5% based on the PVC weight. The composite panels were produced using injection molding and the physical and mechanical properties of the final boards were evaluated according to ASTM standard test methods. Results showed that the utilizing the mixture of virgin and recycled PVC increased the bending strength and modulus of elasticity. Water absorption was also increased. However, impact resistance and elongation at yield point were decreased. At higher wood flour content up to 40%, flexural strength was increase indicating that the resin properly encapsulated the wood flour particles and at higher wood flour dosage, elongation and Izod impact resistance was reduced.