Using mussel shell wastes as an additive for the production of thermally improved polypropylene composite monofilaments

In this study, powdered waste mussel shells were used as a filler to improve the thermal properties of polypropylene monofilaments. Composite polypropylene monofilaments including various amounts of mussel shell particles were produced by melt mixing and extrusion. Thermal characterization was performed with the thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. In addition, tensile tests and limiting oxygen index tests were carried out to analyze the mechanical behavior and the flammability, respectively. X-ray diffraction were used to analyze crystal structure changes of the monofilaments. According to the test results, increased filler ratio has a limited effect to limiting oxygen index of monofilaments. In the X-ray diffractograms, the lowest intensity loss was observed for the monofilament with 5% filler due to a homogeneous dispersion of lower filler content in the structure. Furthermore, thermal stability and crystallization temperature of the monofilaments increased by increased filler ratio.