Title: Extrusion fractionation of wheat straw for biocomposites utilising the entire straw constituents

Authors: Yong Gang Kang, Wendy Xia, Jim Song, Karnik Tarverdi

Addresses: Wolfson Centre for Materials Processing, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, UK. ' Wolfson Centre for Materials Processing, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, UK. ' Wolfson Centre for Materials Processing, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, UK. ' Wolfson Centre for Materials Processing, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, UK

Abstract: This paper reports work in the extrusion fractionation of wheat straw and biocomposites utilising the entire constituents of straw. The effects of pre-treatment and extrusion conditions on fractionation of straw and mechanical properties of the biocomposites were studied systematically. It is demonstrated that twin screw extrusion can be used for effective fractionation of straw feedstock for production of biocomposites utilising the natural resin and fibre reinforcement without additional polymeric resin. In comparison with the conventional approaches where cellulose is extracted and compounded with resins, the self-reinforced biocomposites benefit from low material and processing costs as well as lower environmental impacts.

Keywords: wheat straw; extrusion fractionation; extrusion; biocomposites; lignocellulose; natural fibres; fibre reinforced composites; twin screw extrusion; straw feedstock.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMPT.2009.027840

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology, 2009 Vol.36 No.1/2/3/4, pp.334 - 347

Published online: 12 Aug 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article