Toward chemically treated low-cost lignocellulosic parsley waste/polypropylene bio-composites for resourceful sustainable bio-products

The performance of bio-composites is vital in attaining sustainability, functionality and dimensional stability for successful green products. This work examines the mechanical performance of parsley lignocellulosic fibers in polypropylene-based composites. This was performed to attain desirable mechanical properties for more functional low-cost materials. Different parameters of parsley/polypropylene bio-composite structural reinforcement conditions were studied. Several composites were designed and investigated with different reinforcement conditions, variable fiber content of treated and untreated parsley fibers. Chemical treatments were carried out with sodium chloride, phosphoric and citric acids. Different desired mechanical characteristics of the bio-composites were investigated including tensile strength, elongation at break, tensile modulus and the impact behavior of the composite. The considered chemical treatments have demonstrated significant improvements in all of tensile strength, Young’s modulus and impact strength properties. Sodium chloride treatment was found to increase the tensile strength in case of 20 wt% content to a value of 116 MPa comparable to the 36.8 MPa for the matrix itself. However, acid effects on this mechanical property were more consistent with all fiber loadings. Acidic treatment had increased the tensile strength property for the 40 wt% case up to 162 MPa and enhanced the impact strength about 22.3% comparable to the matrix. Such attainments in mechanical performance would not only make biomaterials on the radar as a viable sustainable alternative material for bio-products, but also contribute attaining more reliable future sustainable structural design possibilities.