J Polym Environ (2012) 20:245–253

DOI 10.1007/s10924-011-0373-6

ORIGINAL PAPER

Recycled Polyethylene Composites Reinforced with Jute Fabric

from Sackcloth: Part I-Preparation and Preliminary Assessment
Amanda C. Lima • Sergio N. Monteiro •

Kestur G. Satyanarayana

Published online: 19 October 2011

 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011

Abstract In recent times, environmental safety has been Keywords Fabrics/textiles  Recycling  Composites 
on priority in the development of new materials leading to Mechanical properties  Damage tolerance
a recycling and reuse approach to conserve the materials
resources. This has resulted in more focus on the applica-
tion of natural materials such as lignocellulosic fibers. This
paper presents the characterization of continuous and Introduction
aligned jute fabrics obtained from new and used sacks as
well as the preparation and characterization of their com- Coarse fabrics made of jute (Chorchorus capsularis) fiber
posites incorporated into recycled polyethylene or as iso- are extensively used around the world to make sackcloth
lated pieces up to 40 wt%. These environmentally friendly for storing staples such as potatoes, beats, wool, cotton, etc.
composites were subjected to bend test and the fracture With continuous use, the jute sackcloth loses its strength
surface analyzed by SEM. The fabric from new sacks and thus its capacity to store products gets diminished, in
showed greater damage tolerance than that from the used which case it is regarded as a waste and usually disposed as
sacks. The flexural stress increased steadily with increasing garbage or burnt. Both these disposal ways contribute to
used fabric content up to 30 wt%, which is explained using local pollution and emission of greenhouse gases respon-
fractographic studies on ruptured specimens. Used jute sible for global warming. The possibility of using the fabric
fabric composites are found to be viable alternative mate- from jute sackcloth, even in frayed condition, would be a
rials for low strength conventional materials based on cost– proper environmental solution [1]. One such method is to
performance comparison with conventional materials. use this jute fabric, in limited percentage, as reinforcement
in a suitable polymer matrix, which may be strong and
rigid enough to compete with wooden products and other
A. C. Lima  S. N. Monteiro
Laboratory for Advanced Materials (LAMAV), State University conventional materials for building construction and fur-
of the Northern Rio de Janeiro (UENF), Av. Alberto Lamego, niture [2]. As a consequence, the cost of the composite
2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil would be depending more on the polymeric resin used as a
e-mail: [email protected] matrix than on the jute fabric waste. Accordingly, recycled
Present Address: plastics can be used as matrix for lower cost environmen-
K. G. Satyanarayana tally appropriate composites.
BMS College of Engineering & Poornapragna Institute of Recycling of plastics mainly of polyethylene (PE),
Scientific Research, Bangalore, Karnataka, India polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethyl-
K. G. Satyanarayana ene terepthalete (PET) and polystyrene (PS) is a common
Federal University of Parana (UFPR), Curitiba, PR, Brazil practice in most countries. Consequently, low cost plastic
wastes are normally available for an eventual matrix for
K. G. Satyanarayana (&) jute fabric incorporation. This, in principle, would permit
BMS R&D Center, BMS College, P.B. No.1908, Bull Temple
Road, Bangalore, Karnataka 560 019, India to fabricate composites with costs lower than that of con-
e-mail: [email protected] ventional materials. In Brazil, more than 50% of the

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Fig. 1 Jute sackcloth fabric

a new; b discarded after use

polymeric products are recycled, mainly from classified Figure 1 shows these sacks with an enlarged view of the
materials collected from garbage and dumps. It is therefore woven jute fabrics. The square woven fabric of the new
possible to purchase specific polymeric wastes such as PE, sackcloth, Fig. 1a, had a interlace space of 1 mm between
PP, PS, etc. Therefore, the first objective of this work is to parallel fibers that were still integral parts. The used jute
characterize the fabric from both new and discarded-after- fabric, Fig. 1b, had damaged weave due to the constant use
use jute sackcloth. The second objective is to fabricate and of the sackcloth. The damage consisted of open interlace
characterize composites with recycled polyethylene matrix spaces, Fig. 1b, that could reach more than 5 mm between
reinforced with different amounts of continuous and the twisted yarns in the fabrics. These relatively large
aligned fabric pieces sectioned out from these sacks with a spaces made the sackcloth unsatisfactory for its intended
view to examine the possibility for the use of recycled purpose.
plastic and used jute fabric. The third objective is to The recycled polyethylene (PE) was obtained in the
compare the practical and economical aspects of these form of cleaned pellets from a city dump collecting firm
composites with conventional materials as possible sub- operating in the county of Lorena, state of São Paulo,
stitutes in some applications such as low-density boards Brazil. They were conventionally milled from large parts
and gypsum panel. of post-used PE components.

Methods
Experimental
To understand the fabric damage effects on the properties,
Materials a square weave fabric similar to that proposed for Godfrey
and Rossetos [3–5] model was considered from both new
Two waste materials were employed in this investigation, and used jute fabrics This facilitated the application of the
viz., jute fabric as reinforcement and recycled polyethylene model to evaluate the damage tolerance and its influence
as matrix. Jute fabrics both from new and discarded-after- on the mechanical strength of composites reinforced with
use sackcloth were obtained by sectioning out pieces from both new and discarded-after-use jute sackcloth. Rectan-
the sacks. It should be noted that while the new sackcloth gular pieces of jute fabric taken from both types of sack-
was obtained from a Brazilian textile industry, the used one cloth were cleaned and dried in open air. Used
was supplied by a supermarket, where the sacks were used polyethylene in the form of recycled pellets was combined
primarily for potato storage and its transportation. with the jute sackcloth pieces to process composites with
Accordingly, in addition to a few stain marks, some light different amounts of jute fabric.
organic contamination was detected on these used jute Details of the composite processing were presented
fabric. Hence, both new and used sack cloths were thor- elsewhere [1]. In brief, an interlayer stacking with up to
oughly cleaned with water and dried for at least 3 days 40 wt% of yarns oriented jute fabric pieces was lay down
under the sun in open air before they were used as com- in a 114 9 25 9 10 mm rectangular closed steel mold
posite reinforcement. together with the polyethylene pellets. The mold was then

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compressed with 1.7 MPa pressure at 160 C for 1 h and samples, cut from the specimens, which were then
allowed to cool to room temperature. After the press- observed in a model JSM-6460 LV JEOL microscope with
molding operation, the specimen was characterized in secondary electrons using a beam voltage of 15–20 kV.
terms of density and flexural properties. For the flexural
properties, each specimen was subjected to bend test in an
Instron universal testing machine (model 5582- mechani- Results and Discussion
cally Driven, 1 kN load cell) partially following ASTM
D790-03 standards used for reinforced plastics. The span- Morphology Studies of Fabrics and the Recycled
to-depth ratio was maintained at a constant value of 9 and Polyethylene
the test speed was kept at 1 mm/min.
It should be mentioned that the dimensions and geo- First, it may be worthwhile to understand the structure of
metric characteristics of the weave fabric as well as the the fiber itself. The jute fiber is a coarse bast fiber, being
maximum amount of 40 wt% jute fabric incorporated into coarse with golden yellow color. It has an average length of
the polyethylene matrix did not allow the recommended 150–360 mm, diameter 5–25 lm for the single fiber, while
standard specimen thickness of 3.2 mm to be used. Hence, length of its fibrils is 0.8–6 mm and diameter is 2.5–5 lm.
possible and practically allowable thickness of the com- The morphology of fibril bundles presents rare cross-
posite sample of 10 mm was employed in the present markings and nodes. The ultimate fiber shows variable wall
study, which imposed a restriction to the span-to-depth thickness and a lumen having round to oval shape with
ratio different from the generally preferred ratio of 16 or 32 distinct sizes along the fiber length. The ultimate fiber
in the bending tests to minimize the effect of shear. shows sharply polygonal structure with some rounded
Therefore, a value of 9 for span- to-depth ratio and not the corners. Its chemical composition, depending on the loca-
16 or 32 as per the standard was applied in this study tion of the cultivation of the plant, shows 60–75% cellu-
considering the availability of limited mold dimensions. lose, 12–15% hemicelluloses and 10–15% lignin, while the
A minimum of three specimens was tested for each density is 1,400 kgm-3 [6, 7].
investigated percentage of incorporated jute fabric to per- Figure 2 shows the scanning electron micrographs of
mit a limited statistical analysis. bunches of new and discarded fibers. Not much difference
Tensile testing was also carried out on fabrics, yarns and in the surface of both types of fibers can be seen suggesting
fibers of both new and discarded-after-use jute sack cloth that the use of sackcloth may fray out the corresponding
using samples sizes of 50 and 100 mm as per ASTM fabric leading to its discard, but the microscopic appear-
Standard. ance of the related jute fibers is not affected.
The fracture surfaces of all tested specimens (tensile and Similarly, Fig. 3 shows the scanning electron micro-
bending test) were macroscopically studied. The micro- graphs of yarns formed by interlaced fibers from both new
structure of the jute fabric and the polyethylene pellets and discarded-after-use sackcloth. Figure 3a reveals that
were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). the fabric in the new sackcloth is actually formed of coarse
For this purpose, gold sputtering was done on all the woven yarns composed of braided jute fibers. The small

Fig. 2 Scanning electron

micrographs of jute fibers:
a new; b discarded after use

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Fig. 3 Scanning electron

micrographs of yarns formed by
interlaced fibers: a new;
b discarded after use

Table 1 Tensile strength and total deformation of fabrics, yarns and Weave Damage and Flexural Properties
fibers of jute sacks
Before analyzing the results of this study, the weave fabric
Material Tensile Total
strength (MPa) deformation (%) damage model proposed by Godfrey and Rossetos [3–5] is
presented. This mathematical model permitted to simulate
New fabric 14.20 ± 2.94 6.0 the consequences on the mechanical behavior of the fabric.
Used and discarded fabric 4.58 ± 2.14 3.8 The model considers a plain square weave fabric with
New thread 65.73 ± 9.98 12.3 damage consisting of a slit series of consecutive broken
Used and discarded thread 61.90 ± 8.65 7.2 yarns arrayed parallel to the x2 horizontal direction at
New fiber 378.42 ± 99.03 7.8 x1 = 0, as schematically shown in Fig. 4. As a conse-
Used and discarded fiber 442.10 ± 123.79 6.5 quence of the damage, a remote biaxial stress field applied
to the fabric will produce elastic displacement of neighbor
yarns along the vertical direction as depicted in the geo-
space that is seen in between fibers may favor the metrical representation in Fig. 4.
impregnation of the polyethylene resin during the com- Under a sufficiently high loading, a damage shown in
posite processing. Further, the crossing of yarns in this Fig. 4 will become the initial point for propagation of a
fabric is perpendicular with adjustable interlacing without flaw in the fabric. Based on this model, Godfrey and
much free space. Rossetos [4] were able to develop an equation for the
By contrast, the yarns in the discarded-after-use sack- dimensionless parameter p^u associated with the damage
cloth, Fig. 3b, leave relatively large interlace spaces in the tolerance of stressed plain weave fabrics, as shown below:
mesh as a consequence of the fabric fraying out. These  
pu F2 yo1 1=2
microscopic observations corroborate the results obtained p^u ¼ ð1Þ
f EA yo2
from the tensile testing of both new and used fabrics, yarns
and fibers, as shown in Table 1. In fact, the large inter- where, pu is the rupture load for the yarns, f, the friction
lacing space in the discarded-after-use jute sackcloth, force at yarns crossover, F2*, the loading applied to the
Fig. 1b, is associated with relatively lesser yarns and fibers horizontal yarns, yo1 and yo2, respectively the distance
per area of the fabric. Consequently, one should expect this between horizontal and vertical yarns in the weave; E, the
used fabric to present lower tensile strength, even though elastic modulus of the yarn and A the cross section of the
the corresponding strengths for its yarn and fiber are yarn.
approximately the same for both new and discarded-after- Figure 5 illustrates typical load versus extension curves
use sackcloth (See Table 1). obtained from the three-point bend tests performed on

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Fig. 4 Schematic model of

weave fabric damage [5]

literature [8] for the tensile strength of low-density poly-

ethylene. This indicates that the recycled polyethylene used
in the present work displays similar mechanical properties
as that of the virgin resin.
Secondly, the jute fabric produces initially a significant
reinforcement effect in the polyethylene composite. In fact,
for 30 wt% incorporation of used jute fabric, the composite
becomes more than 80% stronger (28.66 MPa) in relation
to pure polyethylene (15.89 MPa). The reason for this
effective reinforcement can be understood by analyzing the
fracture behavior of the specimens.
Thirdly, up to 30 wt% of used jute fabric, there is a
significant reinforcement of the composite. However,
Fig. 5 Load versus extension flexion curves for recycled polyethyl-
ene composites with different amounts of used jute fabrics above 30 wt% a decrease is observed in the strength val-
ues, but these values are still higher than that of pure
composite specimens with different jute fabric composi- polyethylene, indicating an effective reinforcement up to
tions. All curves in this figure display some plastic exten- 40 wt%. A similar behavior can also be seen in Table 2 for
sion before going through a maximum load (L) value, from the new jute fabric reinforced composites that display a
which the ultimate flexural stress, sn, was calculated: marked increase in strength up to 25 wt% followed by a
moderate decrease. Indeed, in practice, the incorporations
3L ‘ of jute fabric above 25–30 wt% into the resin became
sn ¼ ð2Þ
2 bd2 increasingly difficult during the press-molding process.
where, ‘ = 9 mm is the distance between support points, Figure 6 shows the variation of the flexural strength for
b = 25 mm is the width and d = 10 mm, the thickness of polyethylene composites with the amounts of both new and
the specimen. used jute fabrics. Even considering the error bars associ-
Table 2 lists the mean values and associated standard ated with the standard deviations, a noticeable difference
deviations of the ultimate flexural strength and modulus for exists between them. This difference may be due to dam-
the different compositions investigated in composites ages existing in the discarded-after-use jute sackcloth
reinforced with both, new and used jute fabrics. It can be fabric. Therefore, an evaluation of the damage tolerance of
seen that the flexural strength (15.89 MPa) and flexural both new and used fabrics was carried out.
modulus (0.42 GPa) values of the pure polyethylene waste Table 3 presents the estimated average values of the
obtained in this study are comparable with that reported in damage tolerance parameters in Eq. 1, obtained for both

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Table 2 Flexural strength and flexural modulus for recycled polyethylene composites reinforced with jute fabric
Weight of Ultimate flexural stress of the Flexural modulus of the new Ultimate flexural stress of the Flexural modulus of the used
jute fabric new jute fabric composite jute fabric composite (GPa) used jute fabric composite jute fabric composite (GPa)
(%) (MPa) (MPa)

0 15.89 ± 0.77 0.42 ± 0.03 15.89 ± 0.77 0.42 ± 0.03

5 25.17 ± 1.32 0.78 ± 0.13 17.57 ± 3.77 0.74 ± 0.15
10 31.69 ± 2.20 0.91 ± 0.07 18.22 ± 2.31 0.83 ± 0.12
15 34.25 ± 3.08 1.02 ± 0.10 19.17 ± 2.46 0.96 ± 0.13
20 39.11 ± 2.95 1.14 ± 0.17 20.39 ± 1.32 1.04 ± 0.08
25 41.92 ± 2.84 2.06 ± 0.18 23.13 ± 2.71 1.18 ± 0.14
30 33.85 ± 3.36 2.10 ± 0.17 28.66 ± 3.44 1.46 ± 0.15
35 32.01 ± 3.47 2.05 ± 0.15 20.90 ± 3.24 2.03 ± 0.18
40 34.80 ± 4.01 1.98 ± 0.21 21.21 ± 1.38 1.11 ± 0.16

failure started by nucleation of cracks that propagated

through the polyethylene matrix and were then arrested at
jute fibers in the fabric. Finally, further loading was nec-
essary to rupture the fibers as the last event of flexural
break. The effective adherence of the fabric to the poly-
ethylene probably prevented any shear stress component to
cause delaminantion due to the relatively low span-to-
depth ratio.
The foregoing results can be understood from fracto-
graphic studies carried out by SEM, which are presented in
Fig. 7a–c. These fractographs reveal the influence of pre-
existing damages in the jute fabric used as reinforcement.
Figure 7a presents a typical SEM micrograph of the frac-
ture surface of the pure polyethylene, which shows crack
propagation and defect marks in a relatively brittle and
uniform structure. In the composite reinforced with
Fig. 6 Flexural strength of recycled polyethylene composites as a
function of the amount of jute fabric reinforcement 30 wt% of new jute fabric, Fig. 7b, massive participation
of jute fibers in the rupture is evident. In terms of structural
new and used jute fabrics. Some of the parameters like yo1 behavior, the jute fabric contributes in an effective way to
and yo2 were directly measured in the fabric. Parameter f the strengthening of the polyethylene matrix. The inter-
however, was considered as the same for warp cotton/ laced fabric holds the matrix firmly, which is apparently
polyester yarn [4]. Based on the values presented in well adhered to the fibers surface. Consequently, the
Table 3, the respective damage tolerance (^ pu) of new and greater the amount of jute fabric, the more efficient will be
used jute fabrics cut from sackcloth were found to be 1,278 the transmission of the applied load from the matrix to the
and 491, respectively. These preliminary results indicate fiber. Actually, composites reinforced with new and used
that the new jute fabric has greater damage tolerance than jute fabrics, Fig. 6, display significant increase in strength
the used fabric, as expected. In part, this could be a reason as compared to the single polyethylene matrix. This is of
for composites reinforced with new jute fabric to display considerable importance owing to the fact that jute fibers
relatively greater flexural strength than the corresponding have relatively high strength, which could reach 900 MPa
reinforced with the used fabric. [9, 10].
A macroscopic observation of the bend tested composite The influence of pre-existing damages in the jute fabric
fracture surface showed that jute fibers rupture was the used as reinforcement is evident from a comparison of
final process of specimen break. It was observed that none typical fracture surfaces of both new (Fig. 7b), and used
of the tested specimens failed to reveal any sign of jute fabric (Fig. 7c) composites. It seems that the yarns are
delamination. In other words, no evidence of debonding well adhering to the polyethylene matrix in both the cases.
between the jute fabric and the polyethylene matrix was Together with this, the weave that renders difficult the
macroscopically detected. This apparently indicates that propagation of cracks through the matrix, contributes to an

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Table 3 Damage tolerance parameter for the jute fabric

Jute fabric E (MPa) A (mm2) F2* (N) f (N) yo1 (mm) yo2 (mm) pu (N)

Used 390 0.246 7.40 0.033 2.0 5.5 96.7

New 457 0.196 6.64 0.033 1.5 1.5 151.5

increased strength in the composite in comparison to that A comparison of the flexural strength value obtained in
for the pure polyethylene, as shown in Fig. 6, up to the present study for the composite with 30 wt% of used
30 wt%. In particular, a more uniform configuration of the jute fabric to that reported for other jute composites, con-
yarns of the new jute fabric composites can be seen in the taining similar or higher fiber content in different poly-
fracture surface (Fig. 7b). By contrast, the relatively more meric matrices, is shown in Table 4 together with results
heterogeneous aspect of the yarns in the fracture surface of from conventional materials used in furniture and building
the used jute fiber composite (Fig. 7c) is apparently asso- construction [11–16]. It can be seen that flexural strength
ciated with the lower damage tolerance in Table 3. The values obtained are higher than those of conventional
rupture would tend to nucleate and propagate at pre- materials, but lower than those with fiber and different
existing damages in the fabric resulting in highly deformed polymers. This can be understood since the present study
yarns, as seen in Fig. 7c, in agreement with the model uses the recycled polyethylene while the other matrices are
shown in Fig. 4. This corroborates the influence of weave fresh polymers, which generally have higher strength than
damage not only in the observed strength, but also in the polyethylene. This also underlines possible value addition
fracture aspects of recycled polyethylene composites rein- to the recycled materials with their potential to replace the
forced with jute fabrics. conventional materials mentioned.

Fig. 7 SEM micrographs of the fracture surface after bend test: a recycled polyethylene; b & c composites with 30 wt% jute fabric b new jute
fabric and c used jute fabric

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Table 4 Flexural strength of different jute composites as well as matrix composites with improved mechanical strength
conventional materials used in furniture and building construction up to 30 wt% incorporation. These composites display
Material Weight Flexural Reference relatively lower strength when compared to the corre-
fraction strength sponding ones with jute fabric from new sackcloth.
(%) (MPa) • These composites constitute a very promising material
Jute fabric/recycled 30 29 Present both in terms of mechanical strength and effective costs
polyethylene study in addition to environmentally correct alternative for
Jute fiber (aligned)/polyester 44 89 [11] some conventional materials used for furniture and
Jute fiber (aligned)/epoxy 33 150 [12] building construction. Furthermore, the combination of
Jute fiber (chopped)/ 30 55 [13] mechanical strength and low cost confers to the 30 wt%
polystyrene of used jute fabric composite the highest strength/cost
Plywood – 15-21 [14] ratio among all other evaluated materials.
Low-density wood board – 5-10 [15] • A model proposed by Godfrey and Rossetos to evaluate
Gypsum panel – 9-11 [16] the damage tolerance of stressed weave fabrics,
confirmed that jute fabrics, extracted from new sack-
cloth, have greater tolerance than those extracted from
discarded-after-use sackcloth. This could be, at least
Table 5 Cost and strength/cost index for conventional materials and partially, the reason for the relatively greater mechan-
jute fabric composites ical strength of a polyethylene composite reinforced
Panel material for building Price Flexural strength/ with new fabric as compared with corresponding
construction and furniture (US$/kg) price (MPa/US$/kg) composites reinforced with used jute fabric.
• Observations of the fracture surface of these compos-
Plywood 1.31 18
ites revealed a more uniform configuration of ruptured
Low-density wooden board 0.82 12
weave suggesting localized and greater yarn deforma-
Gypsum 0.49 21
tion for the used jute fabric reinforced composites in
Recycled polyethylene 0.92 17
agreement with the weave damage tolerance model.
30 wt% used jute fabric/ 0.69 42
polyethylene composite
40 wt% used jute fabric/ 0.61 35 Acknowledgments The authors thank the support to this investi-
polyethylene composite gation by the Brazilian agencies: CNPq, CAPES, FAPERJ and
TECNORTE/FENORTE. It is also acknowledged the permission to
the use of the SEM microscope by the PEMM from COPPE/UFRJ.
One of the authors (KGS) acknowledges the financial assistance
Table 5 presents a comparison of the actual costs of
provided by Araucaria Foundation, Curitiba-P, Brazil during the
some conventional materials, applied as panels in both period of this work and the two institutions in India with which he is
building construction and furniture, with those of the jute presently associated for their encouragement.
fabric composites evaluated in the present work. These
costs are based on retail prices prevailed in April 2010 in
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