Effect of green pea pod lignin addition on thermal degradation, flame resistance, DMA, and creep resistance of pineapple fibre epoxy composite

• Published in: Biomass conversion and biorefinery 2024, Vol.14 (23), p.29843-29852
• Main Authors: Giridharan, K., Sasirekha, S., Padmanabhan, S., Chakravarthi, G., Stalin, B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biotechnology; Creep strength; Decomposition; Energy; Fiber composites; Fiber reinforced polymers; Fire resistance; Flammability; Household wastes; Lignin; Original Article; Peas; Pineapples; Pressure molding; Renewable and Green Energy; Storage modulus; Thermal degradation; Thermal resistance; Thermal stability
• ISSN: 2190-6815; 2190-6823
• DOI: 10.1007/s13399-023-04841-2

The objective of this work was to produce and use green pea pod lignin for improving the thermal stability, flammability, and creep resistance of pineapple fibre-reinforced epoxy composite. The lignin macromolecules are derived from waste green pea pods via thermo-chemical process and used as reinforcement. The composites were made using the compression moulding method followed by post curing at 120°C. The prepared composites are then machined for testing according to ASTM standards. The results of this research demonstrate that the decomposition temperature of the composite known as EF is improved by the incorporation of pineapple woven mats by a volume of 40%. Comparing to all the composite designations, the EFL3 offers the least loss of weight, the highest decomposition temperature (approximately 420°C), the highest storage modulus (about 7.5 GPa), and the lowest loss tangent (0.6). Accordingly, the EFL3 composite designation has been reported to have the lowest combustion rate of 5.88 mm/min and the highest DSC value of 0.6 mW/mg. However, the creep strain is reduced when adding lignin by 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 vol. %. These eco-friendly waste converted green pea pod lignin strengthened pineapple fibre-epoxy composites could be used in high thermal applications including automotive insulation panels and domestic infrastructure.