Objectives
The following specific objectives are accomplished:
- Method of pre-treatment of Saskatchewan-grown oilseed flax fiber for development of oilseed flax fiber based biocomposite for rotational molding industries.
- Development of rotational grade partially biodegradable oilseed flax fiber-based biocomposite.
- Method of rotational molding for developed oilseed flax fiber-based biocomposite.
Project Description
Flax fibers were pre-treated with chemical sand then used as a major component to manufacture biocomposite. In principle, the modified flax fiber acts as reinforcement in biocomposites due to its stiffness and toughness. This biocomposite is an excellent raw material for the plastic industry to make different products by extrusion, injection, rotational, and compression molding.
Saskatchewan grown oilseed flax fiber is used as a main ingredient in the development of biocomposite for rotational molding industry. Pre-treatment of this fiber reduces the hygroscopic nature of fiber and increases the interfacial adhesion properties in between the polymer and fiber. Biocomposites developed from this pre-treated fiber shows excellent mechanical properties, significant processing advantages, excellent chemical resistance, low cost and low density, and good water absorption resistance.
