Effect of hybridization and compatibilization on the mechanical properties of recycled polypropylene-hemp composites

Hemp fibers and particles, with different sizes and contents, were used to make hybrid composites based on recycled polypropylene (PP). In particular, the effect of maleated polypropylene (MAPP) addition on the morphology and mechanical properties is reported. The results show that better adhesion is obtained with MAPP addition. In general, fiber content and size had a substantial effect on the tensile, flexural, torsion, and impact properties of the resulting composites. Although, adding MAPP to the samples improved the impact strength of the composites, the values were always lower than neat PP. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012