Effect of Artocarpus Heterophyllus Latex on Properties of Calcium Carbonate Filled Natural Rubber/Low Density Polyethylene/ Waste Polyethylene Composites

Artocarpus Heterophyllus Latex (AHL) is an aqueous emulsion containing many ingredients, for instance, lipids, rubbers, resins, sugars, proteins including proteolytic enzymes. Waste PE (wPE) is one of the major threats to the environment and, hence recycling of wPE is a way to reduce environmental pollution. The main aim of this study was to develop natural rubber (NR) / low density polyethylene (LDPE) /wPE composites with improved properties using AHL as a coupling agent. A series of 30:60:10 NR: LDPE: wPE composites was prepared by varying AHL loading from 0 pphp (part per hundred parts of polymer) loading to 2.5 pphp at 0.5 pphp intervals. 20 pphp of calcium carbonate was also incorporated into every blend composition. The composites were prepared using a laboratory scale internal mixer by melt mixing at a temperature of 150°C and a rotor speed of 60 rpm. Physico-mechanical property and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analyses of the composites were conducted. Water absorption capacity, percentage swelling and gel content of the composites were also studied. The composite with AHL loading 1.5 pphp showed remarkable improvement in physico-mechanical and chemical properties than the other counterpart in terms of tensile strength, elongation at break, hardness, percentage swelling and gel content. It was observed that water absorption of composite has increased with the increase of the AHL loading. Results in overall indicated that the 1.5 pphp loading AHL composite is the best in terms of properties addressed in this study.