Development of Brewed Tea Waste Reinforced Jute Polyester Composites: Physical, Mechanical, Structural and Morphological Characterizations

Abstract

Natural fibers have sparked the interest of researchers for the applications in polymer composites due to their "greener" character and influence on environmental sustainability. In this research, the hand lay-up method was used to produce the brewed tea waste reinforced jute polyester composites  at a temperature of 95˚C for six distinct percentages of weight (0%, 3%, 6%, 9%, 12%, and 15%).The effect of brewed tea waste filler on mechanical, physical, structural, thermal and morphological characteristics were evaluated. Results indicate that mechanical strength improved maximum at 6wt% of filler, and thereafter declined because of the poor bonding between filler and polyester matrix. The composites with the highest values of elongation and hardness were those containing 0wt% and 15wt% filler, respectively. With increasing hardness effective resistance to deformation is also increased due to the strong adhesion between the filler and matrix. The bulk density showed an improvement as the filler content was increased. Moreover, tests for water absorption and soil degradation were used to examine the tendency of composites for moisture and biodegradation. FTIR spectroscopy was used to determine the existence of chemical compounds and functional groups in order to provide a comprehensive characterization of the material. Thermal analysis reveal that 15wt% composites exhibit maximum thermal stability and degradation temperature. SEM analysis was used to perform surface morphological characterization of composites, which displayed strong interfacial adhesion, fiber pullout, voids, and other fracture mechanisms. In the end, the finding indicates the interfacial interaction as well as the whole impact of brewed tea waste filler on various properties of jute composites.