Title: Synthesis and mechanical characterisation of rice husk reinforced epoxy composites

Authors: Priyanka Kataria; Anu Gupta

Addresses: Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar – 125001, Haryana, India ' Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar – 125001, Haryana, India

Abstract: Composite material was fabricated with rice husk fibre as reinforcement and epoxy resin as matrix. Considering the limitations of rice husk like hydrophilicity, low chemical resistance and poor wettability; chemical treatment was used to enhance the surface properties. Rice husk was treated with 5% NaOH to remove lignin from its surface and improve the adhesion in composite. Five different sets of composites with different concentration of rice husk fibre (10-50 wt%) were prepared using hand lay up method. Physical and mechanical properties of these samples were investigated as per ASTM standards. Morphological study on the samples was also carried out using FESEM. Alkali treated rice husk composites have exhibited better mechanical properties than the untreated ones. The tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength, hardness and compressive strength of the samples have improved significantly with the alkali treatment. Also, the fibre loading of 30 wt% has shown the best mechanical properties.

Keywords: natural fibre composites; agricultural waste management; mechanical characterisation; rice husk; alkali treatment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2026.153407

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2026 Vol.39 No.4, pp.357 - 373

Received: 28 Nov 2024
Accepted: 01 Feb 2025
Published online: 07 May 2026 *

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