Use of some plant wastes as fillers for polypropylene

Palm kernel shell and the palm fruit pulp fiber were used as additives for polypropylene. The mechanical properties of the polymer, namely, tensile strength, impact strength, surface hardness, and flexural modulus were remarkably enhanced. This was attributed to the fact that these solid wastes functioned as reinforcing fillers through bonding interactions and stress‐sharing mechanisms. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 1447–1452, 2003