Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Treatment for the Strength of Wood Waste Biocomposites

Abstract

An eco-friendly biocomposite is investigated in the present study-one that combines two materials with different properties, wood powder and polypropylene. Two different types of wood powders are used for comparison, a wood waste powder and a single-species wood powder. Wood powders classified by the sizes of the particles are compared after atmospheric-pressure plasma treatment. A grain size analysis is conducted on the categorized wood powders, and it confirms that it is effective to use a sieve shaker for the classification. Atmospheric-pressure plasma treatment was conducted with 3 kV, 17 +/- 1 kHz, 2 g/min helium is used as a carrier gas and hexamethyl-disiloxane (HMDSO) as a monomer, and it was performed in order to modify the wood surface and to make it hydrophobic. The average percentage increase in strength with the wood waste powder is higher than that with the single-species wood powder. Through a tensile test with composites from 60 similar to 80 mesh (180 similar to 250 mu m) powders, it was confirmed that the strength of the wood waste biocomposite was increased by up to 15% due to the plasma treatment.