Sorption and Diffusion Properties of Wood/Plastic Composites

Abstract

The area of sorption and diffusion behaviour of wood/plastic composites has gained considerable attention during the last decade owing to the variety of applications it offers. When it comes to polymers filled with wood particles there are essentially two major limiting factors that controls the final products end user applications; 1) diffusion and 2) sorption/solvent uptake of (especially moisture) the product, since these two processes lead to property degradation in the composite materials. The properties and end use application of a given product can be predicted thorough the knowledge of the parameters like diffusion, sorption and permeation coefficients. Transport (sorption, diffusion & permeation) properties of wood plastic composites (WPC’s) are now a day’s one of the most intensively researched areas owing to its significance in materials science. Liquid transport through plastics is one of the most extensively researched fields in materials science. Present chapter provides a brief insight into the transport (mainly moisture/water) properties of wood/plastic composites. Keywords: Wood particles, wood plastic composites, diffusion coefficient