Sustainable blends of LDPE/NR and sugarcane bagasse ashes with PE-g-MA thermomechanical relationships

Resumo

The polymer blends obtained with residues that before were called wastes has been growing as a viable
solution, allowing improvements in the mechanical properties and as sustainable alternative. This work
reports the effects of blends of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and natural rubber (NR), with sugar
cane bagasse ash (SCBA) as filler, with and without polyethylene-graft-maleic anhydride (PE-g-MA)
how coupling agent. The dynamic mechanical behavior and a stress-strain analysis were studied. The
materials were further evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry and morphological observations.
The results showed that incorporation of the PE-g-MA reduced the strain and improved the stress and the
Young module of the mixtures. Moreover, the presence of SCBA increased the hardness while
maintaining the tensile strength and the elongation behavior of the polymer. The results demonstrate the
potential use of SCBA in the elastomer and thermoplastic mixture, free of vulcanization agents.
Keywords: Sustainable blends, sugarcane bagasse ashes, natural rubber, low density polyethylene,
polyethylene-graft-maleic anhydride.