Composites of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene filled with wood-flour

This study examined both the use of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) as a plastic matrix for wood-plastic composites (WPCs) and the effect of impact modification on the mechanical properties of ABS/wood-flour composites. Blends of ABS filled with wood flour (both pine and maple) were processed into profile shape using a conical twin-screw extruder and the mechanical properties of the resulting composites were characterised and compared to WPCs made with polyolefins (HDPE and PP) and rigid PVC matrices. Generally, WPCs made with ABS matrix outperformed their polyolefin counterparts in both flexural strength and modulus, whereas ABS-based composites had inferior strength but greater modulus than those made with rigid PVC. The impact strength of ABS/wood-flour composites was below that of wood plastic composites made with polyolefins. However, impact modification with acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymers had some effect in toughening of the ABS/wood-flour composites.