Fabrication and Characterization of Jute Fiber-Reinforced–Recycled Polyethylene Composites

Due to low cost and high specific mechanical properties, natural fiber represents a good renewable and biodegradable alternative to the most common synthetic reinforcement such as glass fiber. The study involves fabrication of jute fiber-reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) (50 % virgin + 50 % recycled) composites by injection molding technique. The tensile and flexural properties of the composite specimens with 10, 20, and 30 % jute fibers and compared with similar specimens made of 100 % virgin HDPE and 50–50 mixture of virgin and recycled HDPE. It is observed that the reinforcement of jute fibers into HDPE matrix reduces the tensile strength. The tensile strength of the composite decreases from 3.4 to 24.3 % with the increase in fiber content from 10 to 30 % when compared with specimen made of equal proportion of virgin and recycled HDPE. On the other hand, flexural strength increases with the increase in jute fiber content in the composite. The flexural strength of the composite containing 10 and 30 % jute fibers are higher by about 4 and 8.6 %, respectively, when compared with specimen containing 50–50 mixture of virgin and recycled HDPE.