Abstract:
Abstract In this work, a natural fiber obtained from a
water hyacinth (WH) plant was used as reinforcement in
high-density polyethylene (HDPE) for the fabrication of
WH/HDPE composite by the compression molding process. Fabrication parameters such as water hyacinth content, alkali treatment concentration, treatment time, and
coupling agent amount were varied in three levels, and
composites specimens were fabricated according to Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array. Grey Relation Analysis was
used to optimize the fabrication parameters. The results
showed that the increase in WH fiber volume fraction,
NaOH concentrations, and treatment time increased the
tensile and flexural strength of the composite up to some
point and after that, it decreased. However, the strength of
the composite was found to decrease with the increase in
NaOH concentration and decrease in coupling agent concentration. It was revealed that the water hyacinth particle
content had the highest contribution to tensile and flexural
strength, followed by coupling agent dosage, treatment
time, and NaOH concentration in order. Mechanical
properties were optimized when the WH/HDPE composite was fabricated with 30% water hyacinth fiber, treated with
5wt% NaOH concentration for 12 h, and mixed with a 15%
coupling agent. The fabricated WH/HDP composite can be
used as a viable alternative material for making furniture,
ceiling, tile, and partition boards
