Effects of natural hard shell particles on physical, chemical, mechanical and thermal properties of composites

Shelled herbal foods are widely consumed. The evaluation of the shells of these foods is important due to their features such as low cost, ease of recycling and environmental friendliness. In this study, hazelnut shell (HS), pistachio shell (PS), and apricot kernel shell (AKS) were brought to powder particles by grinding to dimensions of 300–425 µm. Some of the powder particles were converted into ash at 900°C. The amounts of cellulose, ash, humidity, and metal in these particles via chemical analyses were determined, while their structural properties via X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) analyses. Composite materials were produced by adding 15 wt.% to the polyester matrix material from these powder particles and ashes. Compression strength, hardness, specific weight, and thermal conductivity of these composites were analyzed. The lowest and highest humidity, ash, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin ratios in powders showed differences depending on the type of powders. The amount of Sn and K in the HS, PS, and AKS powders were close to each other, while the amount of Ca, Na, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn and Si was higher in AKS powder. The reinforcement adding to the polyester increased the compression strength, hardness, specific weight and thermal conductivity properties.