Rheological and Thermal Characterization of Glycerol Monostearate (GMS) as Compatibilizer on Polyethylene-Palm Stearin Composite

Addition of high percentage of palm stearin (PS) into a blend with high density polyethylene (HDPE) may result in the blend instability and poor flowability of the composite during injection moulding process. The undesirable effect of the PS addition arises from lack of interaction between the PS and HDPE matrix. To improve the interaction between the two components, a compatibilizer was added to the blend. The objective of this work is to study the effect of glycerol monostearate (GMS) compatibilizer concentration (1-5 wt%) on the HDPE-PS composite with PS content of 40 wt.%. The thermal properties of the HDPE-PS composite were characterized using torque analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis and rheology analysis. It was found that melting temperature of the HDPE-PS composite decreases with GMS concentration. The presence of GMS in the HDPE-PS composite had improved composite flowability indicate suitability of the GMS as compatibilizer for the HDPE-PS composite.