MORPHOLOGICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BIO WASTE
COCONUT/BAEL SHELL POLYMER COMPOSITE
S.Ojha1*, S.K.Acharyar2, G.Raghavendrar3
1, Research Scholar, Mechanical Dept, NIT Rourkela
2, Professor, Mechanical Dept, NIT Rourkela
3, Research Scholar, Mechanical Dept, NIT Rourkela

E-mail:shaku30@gmail.com; 07873181727

Abstract
Morphology and mechanical properties of coconut and bael shell particles reinforced epoxy composites were evaluated toassess the possibility of using it as a new material in engineering applications. Coconut and bael shell filled composites
were prepared from epoxy polymer matrix containing up to 20 wt% coconut and bael shell fillers. The effects of coconut
shell particle content on the mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM) of the composite surfaces also studied. The maximum flexural strength of the both the composites are obtained for
15 wt%. This work has shown that coconut shell particles can be used to improve properties of epoxy polymer composite
to be used in eco-buildings.

Keywords: Bael, Coconut, SEM, Flexural, Epoxy1. Introduction
Bio fillers (BF) have an outstanding potential asreinforcement in thermoplastics. The growing
environmental awareness throughout the world has
triggered a paradigm shift towards designing materials
compatible with the environment. These bio fillers
possesses many environmental advantages such as low
cost, low density, lower pollution, high toughness, goodthermal properties, reduced tool wear andbiodegradability [1-6] over conventional reinforcing fillers(glass, carbon) [7-8].
Many researchers have directed their work on bio
waste like bamboo, jute, hemp, oil palm shell, coconut
coir used as reinforced in polymer composite (Varghese
et al. [9] and Geethamma et al. [10] and also reported
their several applications[11]. Among the various
agricultural waste coconut and bael shell could be very
interesting material as filler in biodegradable polymer
composites, due to its good thermal stability compared toother agricultural waste [12-13].
Coconut (Cocos nucifera) and Bael (Aegle marmelos)
is a member of palm family. Their shells are hard
lignocellulosic bio-waste. A lot of research has been
done on bio fiber reinforced polymer composites but
research on coconut and bael shell particles fillers based
polymer composites is very rare. The present
investigation deals with fabricate and characterization
two new type of polymer composite in which Coconut
and Bael shell are used as reinforcement and study theirmechanical and morphological properties.

2. Materials and Methods
The experiment started with the procurement of thecoconut shell and wood apple shell specimens, resin,hardener, mould and roller. The coconut and wood apple
shells were procured from a local grocer. These shells
were cleaned then grounded to form a powder with theparticle size -90 to +45 microns using ball millingmachine. The true density of coconut and bael shell is
1.60 g/cm3 and 1.068 g/cm3. Epoxy resin LY556 with thedensity of 1.2 g/cm3 and hardener HY951 were procured
from a local supplier. The resin used was epoxy resin
LY556 with the density of 1.2 g/cm3. The weight ratio of
the resin and hardener was 10:1.
Table1. The proximate analysis of coconut shell and baelshell
Properties
Coconut shell (%)
Bael shell (%)
Moisture content at
5.6
6.6
110oC
Ash content at
2.72
0.85
725oC
Volatile content at
74.14
73.34
925oC
Fixed carbon

17.54

19.21

Mixing of the epoxy/coconut and wood apple shellparticle was carried out by hand layup technique. The
epoxy is firstly mixed using casting technique withcoconut shell powder (5%,10%,15% and 20% vol% byweight) until it is homogeneously mixed before thecatalyst is added to initiate the polymerization reaction.
The above mixture was stirred for 5-7 minute by a glassrod to obtain uniform dispersion of particle and thenpoured in to the mould. The dimension and shape ofmould were made according to the size and shape ofsamples as per ASTM standard D 790-97 for flexural

7th International Symposium on Feedstock Recycling of Polymeric Materials (7th ISFR 2013)
New Delhi, India, 23-26 October 2013

testing. During the application of pressure some polymer
squeezes out from the mould. This has been taken careoff during pouring. The samples were kept in the moulds
for curing at room temperature for 24 hour until themixture was hardened. When the composite washardened it was removed from the moulds and cut for
flexural test with a diamond cutter according to ASTM
standard. Similarly Bael shell shell particle composite
were prepared.

tendency of filler-matrix interaction improved with theincreasing filler in polymer matrix.

Figure 2 SEM microstructure of Bael shell particles

3. Results and Discussions
4. Conclusions
The density of composite materials in terms of volume
fraction is found out from the following equations 1.
s ct =w0(w o ) + (w a − w b )(1)

Where ‘‘ρct’ represents specific gravity of the composite,W0 represents the weight of the sample; Wa represents
the weight of the bottle + kerosene, Wb represents theweight of the bottle + kerosene + sample.
Table 2.Density of coconut and bael shell composite% offiller

True Density ofcoconut shell(gm/cm3 )True Density of
Bael shell(gm/cm3 )51.245

1.189

10

1.272

1.188

1520

1.285
1.299

1.187
1.181

Flexural test were carried out on a universal testingmachine INSTRON H10KS with maximum load 250 kN. It
is reported in ASTM D 3039/D [14] that five specimens
per test condition should be carried out for testing thepolymer matrix composite materials and all tests werecarried out according to the above mentioned standard.
Three different filler contents by weight were used
namely 5%, 10%, and 15% and 20 % by weight.

Figure 1 Flexural strength of composites
Morphological studies of the CS/BS composites werecarried out using a Philips XL30 SEM (Philips, UK). The
deposited CS/BS particles were detected usingbackscattered secondary electrons (BSE) with a 15 keVelectron beam, at magnification of 300x, a spot diameterof 5 µm, take off angle of 15°, and with an acquisition
time of 60s. Morphology studied indicates that theThe following conclusions are drawn from this study.
A new set of composites with bael and coconut shell
powder as filler material are successfully fabricated.
The maximum flexural strength is obtained for both thecomposite prepared with the 15wt % reinforced
particulate filled epoxy composite

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7th International Symposium on Feedstock Recycling of Polymeric Materials (7th ISFR 2013)
New Delhi, India, 23-26 October 2013