Pultrusion of kenaf fiber impregnated by starch and HDPE

ABSTRACT This research studied the wire shape prepreg which consist of kenaf fiber/starch and kenaf fiber/high density polyethylene. These prepregs has been impregnated in pultrusion process aided double screw extruder. Starch and HDPE were melted extruded in pultrusion die. The results show that ultimate strength and Young’s modulus of kenaf was increased after impregnation. The mechanical properties of kenaf starch were lower than kenaf HDPE . It could be explained by high melt viscosity of starch in impregnation of pultrusion process. Microscopic photographs of prepregs cross section showed that starch and HDPE impregnated the kenaf fibers but didn’t diffuse inside the kenaf filament. Keywords: , , ,