Effect of silane-grafted orange peel biochar and areca fibre on mechanical, thermal conductivity and dielectric properties of epoxy resin composites

This research study showed the effectiveness of amino silane-grafted areca fibre and orange peel biochar particles in the improvement of mechanical, thermal conductivity and electron admittance (dielectric) properties of epoxy resin biocomposite. The study was performed to investigate the effect of silane treatment on fibre and their relative outcomes in the composite’s properties. The raw chopped fibre and peel-dried particles are treated using amino silane using the acid hydrolysis method and air-dried using an oven. The oven-dried areca nut fibre and biochar particles are then used for making composites by a hand layup process and characterized as per the ASTM standards. According to the results, the mechanical properties were enhanced by 64% and 50% for tensile and flexural strengths, respectively and improved impact resistances by around 93%. Similarly, the composite designation RAB3 gives the highest thermal conductivity of 0.426 w/mK. The dielectric properties increased gradually with the introduction of orange peel biochar particles of significant volume. The highest dielectric constant of 6.4 with a loss factor of 1.5 was noted for the RAB3 composite. The SEM fractography shows better adhesion of biochar and areca fibre with resin, due to the silane treatment process and the pore structure of biochar. With these improved essential properties, the developed epoxy biocomposite could be used in food storage containers and packaging stuffs.