Characterization of physical and mechanical properties of recycled jute fabric reinforced polypropylene composites

Abstract This research designed to contribute to reduce the environmental impacts through the preparation of composites with recyclable materials to be used in different applications. To this end, composites have been developed based on jute recovered from packaging bags and polypropylene (PP) reclaimed from scraps obtained from the manufacture of PP yarns. The developed composites were then characterized. First of all, the optimum mass fraction was determined in order to achieve good mechanical performance. Several mass fractions (30%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 60%, and 70%) were experimented to find that the best characteristics were those of the biocomposite with 40% reinforcement ( σ = 39.07 MPa, E = 4.60 GPa). With this ratio, jute–PP biocomposites were further developed with different jute architectures (Satin, Serge 2 × 2, Taffeta). A structural study of the different jute fabric wastes was carried out to confirm whether they are suitable for use with a thermoplastic matrix (i.e., at a processing temperature of ≥200°C). Tensile and bending tests were carried out on these composites to find out the effect of the weave structure of the reinforcement.