Abstract:
It is well known to all that the population of the Earth is growing daily. To fulfill the needs, different types of plastic products are being used throughout the world, made from polymeric materials such as expanded polystyrene (EPS), expanded polypropylene (EPP), and Styrofoam (plastic foam) because of their easy processing, high durability, and many other properties. Packaging is one of the major sectors of polymeric material use. Packaging is the process by which goods or products are enclosed to protect products during distribution, storage, sale, and use. Of those polymeric materials, some are recyclable, but recycling is very costly; some are non-recyclable (melamine-thermosetting polymer). After use, most of the plastics are thrown into the environment, and those are getting mixed with land, wildlife, forests, and aquatic ecosystems, creating a threat to the everyday lives of people, wildlife, marine animals, and so on. Since polymeric materials have a long lifetime and a long time required to decompose naturally, researchers are continuously trying to develop alternative products that can be used as a substitute for plastic products. Researchers have used natural fiber-based products, but most of them are based on polymers, where those polymers act as a matrix form of a composite, such as epoxy resin, polyester, polypropylene, HDPE, LDPE, Vinyl ester resin, epoxy, and polyester resin and natural fiber used as a reinforcing agent. Most of them are non-biodegradable and take a long time to decompose naturally. There is an opportunity to use natural-based materials in matrix form.
Hence, this research aims to develop a composite by using waste papers as a matrix material of the composite and jute fiber as the reinforcing agent that can reduce the use of certain portions of plastic-type products, especially Styrofoam in the packaging sector. The hand lay-up method was used to fabricate the composite after collecting the raw materials, and starch (arrowroot powder) was used as a binder. After the final curing of the developed composite, shore hardness test, stress test, strain test, compressive test, density test, water absorption test, and degradation test were done and compared with the available Styrofoam sample. The experimental results indicate that developed composite samples are superior in terms of hardness and compressive strength compared to available Styrofoam samples, developed composite samples are inferior in terms of density and water absorption compared to the available Styrofoam samples. The level of strain found in both samples (Developed and available samples) is comparable. Also, the degradation test indicates that developed composite samples are degradable in soil and water, whereas available Styrofoam samples are known to be non-biodegradable. Typically, a portion of the waste paper produced is recycled to decrease reliance on virgin raw materials and to lessen the use of natural resources like trees, water, and other components. However, there is a lack of effective management aimed at minimizing waste paper generation at its source. This research can contribute to addressing this issue by illustrating methods to reduce waste paper generation and ultimately utilizing existing technology to recycle the paper waste created.