Density and Water Absorption of Sugarcane Bagasse-Filled Poly(vinyl chloride) Composites

Sugarcane bagasse is divided into two main components, pith and rind, with “pith” representing the inner part of the sugarcane bagasse and “rind” the outer part. In this study, both part of bagasse and were used separately as a filler in poly(vinyl chloride) to construct a natural fibre thermoplastic composite. The bagasse incorporated in poly(vinyl chloride) using internal mixer followed by hot-pressing to obtain a plate of sugarcane bagasse/PVC composite with various filler loading (10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% in weight). Density of the composites was determined and the composites were subjected to water immersion tests in order to study the effect of filler loading and fibre source on the density and water absorption behaviour. It was observed that the physical properties were influenced significantly by both fibre source and fibre content.