DECOMP.PRO

Abstract

Solid waste is known as any material that is unwanted or discarded once they have been consumed. Usually the leftover has little or no economic value to the user and thus went for disposal. Malaysia is facing critical issues for siting of solid waste disposal site due to exponential increase of solid waste generation. Agricultural waste largely from massive plantation activity is considered as one of the contributors in generating waste. Palm, coconut and banana stem fibers can be diverted and used as starter in matrix polymer composites (PMC) preparation. These materials were chosen and mixed with resin or polymer matrix in composite production and widely applied in the automotive and furniture manufacturing industries. The study of composites has long been carried out and is still ongoing to achieve the ideal properties of composites such as light and high durability. In this study, selected fibers were immersed in NaOH for 24 hours to remove impurities and lignin content. Resin composition
is constant while oil palm fiber, coconut fiber and banana stem fibers are varied by 25%, 35% and 50% quantities compared to resin weight. The resins chosen are of the Epoxy type in the preparation of composites through hand coating methods. Test specimens performed were from bending tests. Test results showed that 25%, 35% and 50% composite mechanical properties resulted in bending strength of 41.05 N / mm2, 50.24 N / mm and 52.27 N / mm2 respectively. The findings showed that there was an increase in bending strength with the increase in the quantity of fiber from palm tree (fruit bunch), coconut shell, coconut fiber and banana stem fibers.