Investigations on the properties of polypropylene with bio-fillers and natural reinforcements

Reinforcing of plastics to yield tailor made properties is not new to plastics industry, as well as the use of natural resources is not, although the interest for using bio-based materials increased rapidly over the last two decades. Therefore, the aim of this work was to compare the different reinforcing materials to find out about the best candidates for reinforcement of a polypropylene matrix. We found, that the fiber type shows an influence due to its chemical nature as well as the morphology of the composite is the controlling factor for composite properties. Depending on the properties needed, the best candidate for reinforcements varies due to issues like density as well as thermal stability, as is discussed in this work.