LAUSR

Large waste amounts from wood industries as powder and sawdust are daily produced, and reusing these materials otherwise would be discharged to the environment has become an economically viable and environmentally friendly alternative to produce new materials. Based on these arguments, polypropylene (PP)/Jatobá wood powder composites upon addition of two types of PP were processed in a corotational twin screw extruder; specimens were injected and molded and their characterization was performed through differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, mechanical properties (impact, tensile, flexural, and hardness), heat deflection temperature (HDT), Vicat softening temperature, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Increased elastic modulus, shore D hardness, HDT, and Vicat related to neat PPs were reached. Nevertheless, losses in impact and tensile strength as well as in elongation at break were also verified. These lower data may be associated with the wood agglomeration, as shown in SEM images. Apparently, the investigated properties were not affected by PP viscosities, where both of them presented similar data. Summing up, presented results can be considered commercially feasible, focusing at economic and environmental benefits while producing higher performance products.