All‐straw‐fiber composites: Benzylated straw as matrix and additional straw fiber reinforced composites

With the aim to utilize the waste biomass of wheat straw, all‐straw‐fiber composites were elaborately manufactured though producing plastic benzylated wheat straw (BWS) as matrix and reinforced by additional straw fibers (ASF). The extent of benzylation for wheat straw was greatly improved with the aid of ball milling pretreatment for 4 h. BWS yielded higher weight percent gain (WPG) under the same reaction conditions with the benzylation of wood flour, lower glass transition temperature (T_g) as well as better flowability upon heating compared to benzylated mulberry branches (BMB) with comparable WPG. All‐straw‐fiber composites performed higher ASF loading capacity and better mechanical properties with optimum ASF content than BMB based composites and by benzylation decreased water absorption significantly. SEM provided evidence for strong adhesion in the interface between BWS and ASF. From the overall performance, the All‐straw‐fiber composites can be regarded as a potential alternative to wood plastic composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 35:419–426, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers