Preliminary study of melt flow index of recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate/Empty fruit bunch (rPET/EFB) composite as a potential biodegradable 3D printing filament

• Published in: Materials Today: Proceedings
• Main Author: Akhbar S.; Nik Omar N.S.N.; Mohd Yusof A.N.; Mohd Alauddin S.; Kamarrudin N.
• Format: Conference paper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2023
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85152565662&doi=10.1016%2fj.matpr.2023.03.625&partnerID=40&md5=8b7463dc788d61b3afef9a4f29979cff

The preliminary study of recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET) reinforced Empty Fruit Brunch (EFB) fibers as a potential biodegradable 3-dimensional (3D) printing filament material was investigated through melt flow viscosity analysis. 10 wt% EFB fiber was blended with 90 wt% rPET using internal mixer until steady state condition achieved. The melt flow index (MFI) of rPET/EFB composite was tested at 250 to 280. The addition of 10 wt% EFB fiber increased the MFI value of rPET/EFB composite compared to rPET at all temperatures significantly. rPET/EFB composite starts flowing at lower temperature which is at 250 at 31.271 g/10 min compared to rPET at 260 at 0.324 g/10 min. Thus, the activation energy of rPET/EFB composite is lower compared to rPET which is 216.91 J/mol and 431.94 J/mol respectively. The findings indicate the possibility of rPET/EFB composite to be 3D printed at lower operating temperature. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.