Sugarcane-Based Polyethylene Biocomposite Reinforced with Organophilic Montmorillonite Clay: Experimental Characterization and Performance Evaluation

With the growing human awareness of trying to reduce the environmental impact in today's world, the development of new sustainably based materials has been the increasing focus of industry and academia. Biocomposites are environmentally friendly materials produced from raw materials synthesized from renewable sources. In this sense, this work aims to characterize and evaluate the mechanical and thermal performances of biocomposites manufactured from a thermoplastic matrix of high-density bioethylene and obtained from ethanol produced from sugarcane and reinforced with organophilic montmorillonite clay. For this, polyethylene grafted with maleic anhydride (PE-g-MA) was used as a compatibilizer. Dry biocomposites with 1, 3, and 5% organophilic montmorillonite clay, by weight, were subjected to structural (FTIR and DRX), thermal (DSC), thermogravimetric (TG/DTG), thermodynamic-mechanical (DMA), morphological (SEM and MET), and mechanical (tensile, flexural, impact, and shore D hardness tests) characterizations. The DMA experiments were carried out within the viscoelastic region of the polymer. From the obtained results, we notice that, in general, there was an increase in the properties of high-density biopolyethylene (B-HDPE) (without compromising its processability), and therefore, the automotive application of biocomposites compatible with PE-g-MA, containing low levels of organophilic montmorillonite clay, is recommended.