Physical and mechanical properties of Pandanus amaryllifolius fiber reinforced low density polyethylene composite for packaging application

Natural fibers become most important reinforcement materials for commercial thermoplastic as it can easily biodegraded, high specific strength, abundant, renewable and easy processing. In this study, a partially biodegradable composite was prepared by melt-mixing of low density polyethylene (LDPE) with Pandanus amaryllifolius fiber (PAF). The effect of the PAF content on composite properties was investigated. Result demonstrated that the increasing of PAF content increased the density and water absorption of the composite. Tensile modulus of the composite also increase from 10.3 MPa (PAF content = 0 wt%) to 121 MPa (PAF content = 50 wt%). However the increasing of PAF content also resulted in a decreasing of tensile strength, impact strength and elongation at break of the composite.