Injection molding and material property of biodegradable composite using waste of cotton fiber as reinforcement

The material recyclability of cut waste of biodegradable fabrics generated during the manufacture of non-woven fabric as a matrix material for fiber reinforced biodegradable composite was investigated. Waste product of cotton fiber was selected as representative reinforcement and the composites were molded using a simple injection molding method. In this system, the cut waste of biodegradable fabrics with lower melting point was fed into the injection machine directly together with the waste of cotton fiber. The tensile modulus and strength of molded composites increased with increasing content of cotton fiber and were discussed based on SEM observation results of fracture surface. The results suggest that the injection molding method described herein shows promise in contributing toward the material recycle of cut waste of biodegradable non-woven fabrics and waste of cotton fiber as molding materials of fiber reinforced biodegradable composite.