Journal of Bionic Engineering Suppl.

(2008) 28–33

Impact Response of Bamboo–Plastic Composites with the Properties

of Bamboo and Polyvinylchloride (PVC)
Hui Wang, Rui Chang, Kui-chuan Sheng, Mehrdad Adl, Xiang-qun Qian
School of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, P. R. China

Abstract
This paper investigates the impacts of moisture content, granular size of bamboo particles and the proportion between
bamboo and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) on the stability and mechanical properties of bamboo-plastic composites, which were
made using virgin PVC with bamboo granule as filler. Composite panels which were made with higher moisture content of
bamboo through hot-press moulding exhibited excellent dimensional stability. The tensile and flexural properties of the com-
posites were optimal at 40 mesh granule size of bamboo. Dimensional stability and strength properties of the composites can be
improved by increasing the polymer content.
Keywords: bamboo-plastic composites, polyvinyl chloride, dimensional stability, mechanical properties
Copyright © 2008, Jilin University. Published by Elsevier Limited and Science Press. All rights reserved.

of bamboo–PVC composite. Furthermore, the impact of

1 Introduction
Every year, large amount of bamboo waste is gen-
erated in China. This sort of waste has low calorific
value and is difficult to treat. A new category of Bam-
boo–Plastic Composites (BPCs) can be achieved by
utilization of bamboo waste and a polymer as the main
components, and by application of hot moulding. BPCs
are a new research field of biomass-plastic composites,
which are used worldwide in various aspects of human
life, such as ornaments, construction, and packaging.
Considerable efforts have been performed on the
research of wood-plastic composites[1–4]. However,
techniques concerning BPCs still need to be studied. As
a matter of fact, bamboo is different from wood, for
example the different content of lignin and different
polarity of materials. Hence, the research area has not
been fully explored.
This work aims to investigate the impacts of mois-
ture content and granular size of bamboo particles on the
dimensional stability, like water absorption and Thick-
ness Swelling (TS), as well as on the mechanical prop-
erties, like Modulus of Elasticity (MOE), Modulus of
Rupture (MOR), Internal Bond (IB) and tensile strength
Corresponding author: Kui-chuan Sheng
E-mail: kcsheng@zju.edu.cn
the proportion of bamboo and Polyvinylchloride (PVC)
on the properties of bamboo–PVC composite are taken
into consideration.
2 Experiment details
2.1 Materials
Sawdust of bamboo was collected from a local
bamboo processing company. The fresh sawdust was
dried at 378.15 K for 4 to16 hours to a moisture content
of about 3 % to 8 % and then ground to finer granule by
using a plate grinder. Bamboo particles were separated
into three groups of 20, 40, 60 mesh sizes with the cor-
responding diameter of 0.84 mm, 0.42 mm and 0.25 mm
respectively. PVC was provided by Shanghai Chlor-
Alkali Chemical Co. Ltd, and the state of PVC was gran-
ular. The differential scanning calculating (DSC 200F3,
NETZSCH) equipment was used to test the thermal
property of PVC and a method was used in accordance
with Amjad[5] and the results are shown in Fig. 1. From
this figure, we can see that as an organic compound,
PVC has a state changing from solid at 426.5 K to liquid.
The peak value of thermal property of PVC is 450.7 K,
and the decomposition temperature is 523.1 K.
 Wang et al.: Impact Response of Bamboo–Plastic Composites with the Properties of Bamboo and Polyvinylchloride (PVC) 29

Fig. 1 DSC property of PVC.

2.2 Composite procedures Table 1 Orthogonal experiment method of material’s

impact on product
Both the material characteristics and the processing
Density Moisture
techniques are important to the quality of BPC materials. Composite sample
(kg·m3) absorption (%)
TS (%)
In order to study the impact of material characteristics C Bamboo70PVC30 a
738 52.45 31.60
on BPC materials, a processing technique of 6 MPa M Bamboo60PVC40a 867 26.30 11.95
a
pressure, 448.15 K compressing temperature, 3 min F Bamboo50PVC50 888 13.95 7.75

pre-heating and 5 min compressing was fixed. An or- F Bamboo60PVC40c 900 18.80 8.50
C Bamboo50PVC50c 830 22.30 12.90
thogonal experiment method was used to optimize and
M Bamboo70PVC30c 880 27.55 13.85
analyze the experiment of the impacts of material prop-
M Bamboo50PVC50b 943 10.55 5.40
erties on the bamboo–PVC composite. Three factors of F Bamboo70PVC30b 714 51.45 21.95
the materials were chosen for study: moisture content of C Bamboo60PVC40b 806 37.95 22.30
bamboo, particle sizes of bamboo and the mixed pro- C: coarse particles, M: mid particles, F: fine particles, a: Moisture
portion of bamboo and PVC. From previous research it content of bamboo is 3%, b: Moisture content of bamboo is 8%, c:
Moisture content of bamboo is 5%.
was found out that the fixed moisture content could not
be higher than 10 %, otherwise there would be swells in
the product. So the levels of bamboo moisture content Tensile bar specimens with dimensions of 152 mm
were selected as 3 %, 5 % and 8 % respectively. Three × 25.4 mm × 6.4mm were cut and machined from the
particle sizes of 20, 40 and 60 mesh size were selected hot-pressed composite panels. Tensile tests were per-
separately to form the following categories referred as formed in accordance with ASTM D638-99[7] using a
coarse, mid and fine. The mixed proportions of bamboo standard material testing system (PowerTest_D00C,
and PVC of 7:3, 6:4 and 5:5 were chosen. The procedure Shenzhen SANS Testing Machine CO., LTD) at a
of this experiment is shown in Table 1. crosshead speed of 10 mm·min1. The flexural properties
were measured in three-point bend tests using the above
2.3 Dimensional stability and mechanical properties standard material testing system at a crosshead speed of
tests 10 mm·min1 in accordance with ASTM D790[8]. The
Water absorption and TS tests were conducted in flexural tests specimens were also cut from the com-
accordance with ASTM D570-98[6], in which the posite panels with the same dimensions of that used in
specimens were immersed in water for 2 h at a tem- the tensile test. The tensile and bending measurements
perature of 296.15K. The weight gain and thickness were performed at ambient conditions of 291.15 K and
increase were then measured 20 min after being re- 60.5 % relative humidity. Two replicates of each com-
moved from the water. posite formulation were tested.
 30 Journal of Bionic Engineering (2008) Suppl.
2.4 Scanning electron microscopy of bamboo–PVC has a similar trend to the water absorption regarding the
composites impacts of bamboo to plastics ratio (Table 1). The TS
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of value for the 2 hours water immersion varied from 5.4 %
bamboo–PVC composites were acquired from a to 31.6 %. Samples made with lower bamboo content
SIRION-100 field emission scanning microscope (FEI, show lower TS.
Netherlands). The cross-sections of bamboo–PVC Table 1 also shows that the density varied from
composites were prepared by sharp bending and then 714 kg·m3 for composite with 70 % fine bamboo parti-
coated by a gold film. The slice by sawing was studied to cles to 943 kg·m3 for that with 50 % mid bamboo parti-
research the interface compatibility between bamboo cles. BPC with mid bamboo particles showed a higher
particles and PVC matrix. density than the other bamboo sizes because the size ratio
3 Results and discussions between bamboo and PVC particles seemed to be the best
fitted one for PVC granule to enter the lumens of bamboo
3.1 Moisture absorption and TS
granules. The water absorption and TS of BPC with
Results of composite density, moisture absorption
coarse size bamboo showed a bigger value than the other
and TS are given in Table 1. It is found that the density of
two. This was mainly due to the lager lumens, fine pores
the composites ranges from 714 kg·m3 for the compos-
and hydrogen bonding sites in the bamboo granule.
ite with 70wt% bamboo to 943 kg·m3 for that with
50 wt% bamboo. The composition of bamboo with 3.2 Tensile properties
higher porosity and lower density as compared to PVC The tensile strength of the bamboo–PVC composite
corresponds to a composite with lower density by more was found to vary in a range from 1.53 MPa for com-
content of bamboo. posite with 70wt% bamboo to 7.50 MPa for that with
Besides the impact of size and moisture content of 50wt% bamboo (Table 2). Tensile strength increases
bamboo, the moisture absorption has a direct relation- with the PVC content in the bamboo–PVC composites.
ship with the content of bamboo. The impact of bamboo That is mainly due to better tensile properties of PVC
to plastics ratio on the water absorption can be explained compared to bamboo.
by the difference in the water absorption capacity be- Results in Fig. 2 indicate that, in certain range of
tween bamboo and plastics. The moisture absorption in bamboo moisture content, a direct relationship did not
composites is mainly due to the presence of lumens, fine exist between bamboo moisture content and tensile
pores and hydrogen bonding sites in the bamboo granule, strength of bamboo–PVC composites. But a fixed
the gaps and flaws at the interfaces, and the micro-cracks bamboo moisture content in a certain scope of particle
in the matrix formed during the compounding process. size could amend tensile strength of bamboo–PVC
In the BPCs, bamboo showed the same properties of composites.
wood in the wood plastics composites[9] .
The presence of hydroxyl and other polar groups in Table2 Tensile and flexural properties of bamboo–PVC
composites
various constituents of the bamboo granule resulted in
MOE MOR IB Tensile
Composite sample
poor compatibility between the hydrophilic bamboo (GPa) (MPa) (MPa) strength (MPa)
granule and the hydrophobic plastics, which increases C Bamboo70PVC30a 0.38 8.29 0.23 2.48
M Bamboo60PVC40a 0.94 14.52 0.80 4.18
the water absorption. Water absorption by cellulose and F Bamboo50PVC50a 0.90 17.18 0.80 5.55
hemicelluloses depends on the number of free hydroxyl F Bamboo60PVC40c 1.04 14.48 0.97 4.96
groups thus the amorphous regions are accessible by C Bamboo50PVC50c 0.39 9.31 0.03 3.13
M Bamboo70PVC30c 0.82 14.16 0.75 4.79
water. On the other hand, plastics are water repellent and
M Bamboo50PVC50b 1.26 20.27 1.11 7.50
have much lower water absorption capability than F Bamboo70PVC30b 0.39 3.65 0.23 1.53
bamboo. C Bamboo60PVC40b 0.46 9.39 0.24 3.65

The TS increases with the bamboo content in the C: coarse particles, M: mid particles, F: fine particles, a: Moisture
content of bamboo is 3%, b: Moisture content of bamboo is 8%, c:
composites – a trend that is true for two hours and then Moisture content of bamboo is 5%.
 Wang et al.: Impact Response of Bamboo–Plastic Composites with the Properties of Bamboo and Polyvinylchloride (PVC)
Fig. 2 Tensile strength of bamboo–PVC composites.
The tensile strength in Table 2 also indicates that
when the size value of bamboo was 40 mesh, the tensile
strength of bamboo–PVC composites was the highest,
and decreased a little when the 60 mesh was used, but
decreased a lot for the 20 mesh size. Results suggest that
the appropriate size of bamboo was 40 mesh or 60 mesh,
but a big size of bamboo would affect the tensile strength
of bamboo–PVC composites. A combination of mid size
particles and 50 wt% bamboo results in the best tensile
strength.
3.3 Flexural properties
The flexural properties of the bamboo–PVC com-
posite was calculated by the MOE and MOR. Results of
MOE and MOR are shown in Table 2. It is found that the
MOE of bamboo–PVC composite ranges from 0.38 GPa
for that with 70 wt% bamboo to 1.26 GPa for that with
31
50 wt% bamboo. MOE increases with PVC content in
the bamboo–PVC composites. That was mainly due to
higher MOE of PVC.
Results in Table 2 also show that when the moisture
content of bamboo was 5 wt%, bamboo–PVC compos-
ites got the best MOE. But the MOE did not decrease
much for 3 % and 8 % moisture contents. Results indi-
cate that in a certain scope of bamboo moisture content a
direct relationship did not exist between moisture con-
tent of bamboo and MOE of bamboo–PVC composites.
MOE values in Table 2 also indicate that when the
40 mesh was used, the MOE of bamboo–PVC compos-
ites reached the highest, and decreased when 20 or 60
mesh was used. Results indicate that the optimum size of
bamboo particles was 40 mesh, because big bamboo
particles would affect the tensile strength of bam-
boo–PVC composites.
MOR values of bamboo–PVC composite in Table 2
range from 3.65 MPa for that with 70 wt% bamboo to
20.27 MPa for that with 50 wt% bamboo. MOR in-
creases with PVC content in the bamboo–PVC com-
posites. That was mainly due to higher MOR of PVC.
Results in Table 2 show that when the moisture
content of bamboo was 3 wt%, bamboo–PVC compos-
ites got the highest average of MOR. Results indicate
that in a certain scope of bamboo moisture content, there
was no direct relationship between bamboo moisture
content and MOR of bamboo–PVC composites.
MOR values in Table 2 also indicate that when the
size value of bamboo was 40 mesh, the MOR of bam-
boo–PVC composites got the highest, and decreased
when 20 or 60 mesh was used. Results indicate that the
optimal size of bamboo was 40 mesh, because a big size
of bamboo would affect the tensile strength of bam-
boo–PVC composites.
3.4 Internal bond
Table 2 indicates that IB of bamboo–PVC com-
posites ranges from 0.03 MPa to 1.11 MPa. The IB was
highest for 60 wt% content of bamboo and decreased a
little for 50 wt% content bamboo but decreased even
more for 70 wt% content of bamboo. The main reason is
the fact that too much or too less PVC would harm the
combination of bamboo and PVC.
 32 Journal of Bionic Engineering (2008) Suppl.
When the size of bamboo was 40 mesh, the highest
IB value was found and the minimal IB value was found
when 20 mesh was used.
3.5 Micromorphology of bamboo–PVC composites
Fig. 3 shows SEM images of composite with 50
wt% content of bamboo particles and bamboo moisture
of 8 % obtained using a SIRION-100 field emission
scanning electron microscope. Fig. 3a shows the inter-
face of a smooth slice prepared by saw, depicting the
well dispersion of bamboo particles inside the PVC
matrix, and it was found that there was a possible com-
patibility between bamboo and PVC. On the other hand,
Fig. 3b reflects a cross section of sharp bending interface
and demonstrates that some bamboo particles had been
pulled out from matrix resin, and reveals probable
bonding weakness between bamboo and PVC.
Because of the existence of proton donor–proton
acceptor interactions between PVC and lignin chains of
bamboo, there was interactions occurred between hy-
(a) Slice by sawing
(b) Sharp bending interface
Fig. 3 SEM images of M Bamboo50PVC50b composites.
droxyl or carbonyl groups of lignin of bamboo and -H
of PVC, as Feldman et al. reported[10]. That was why
bamboo–PVC composites had a good interface com-
patibility and good mechanical properties but poor water
resistance.
According to the hydrophilic nature of bamboo
particles and the hydrophobic characteristic of resin
matrix, the modification procedure of the interface be-
tween bamboo and PVC appears very effective to the
mechanical and physical properties of bamboo–PVC
composites. Further research will be focused on the
modification of compounding between bamboo particle
and PVC.
4 Conclusion
In this work, BPCs were made from PVC with
bamboo granule. The impact of the properties of bamboo
including moisture content, granule size of bamboo and
the ratio of bamboo and PVC on the dimensional stabil-
ity and mechanical properties as the important charac-
teristics of BPCs were investigated. The following con-
clusions are drawn from the current work.
(1) Enhancement of the content of PVC will im-
prove the mechanical properties of bamboo–PVC
composites. Also a higher content of PVC will improve
the dimensional stability of bamboo–PVC composites.
That is because of the composition of bamboo which has
a higher porosity and lower density as compared to PVC.
Also there is a difference in the water absorption capac-
ity between bamboo and plastics. The moisture absorp-
tion in composites is mainly due to the presence of lu-
mens, fine pores and hydrogen bonding sites in the
bamboo granule, the gaps and flaws at the interfaces, and
the micro-cracks in the matrix formed during the com-
pounding process.
Some other aspects like the presence of hydroxyl
and other polar groups in various constituents of the
bamboo granule also increase the water absorption be-
cause these factors will result in poor compatibility
between the hydrophilic bamboo granule and the hy-
drophobic plastics. Plastics are water repellent and have
much lower water absorption capability than bamboo.
(2) An optimum granule size of bamboo is 40 mesh,
in which bamboo and PVC can get a fixed composition.
 Wang et al.: Impact Response of Bamboo–Plastic Composites with the Properties of Bamboo and Polyvinylchloride (PVC)
Because the size ratio between bamboo and PVC
seemed to be the best fitted for PVC granules to enter the
lumens of bamboo granules. The water absorption and
TS of BPC with coarse size bamboo showed a bigger
value than the other two. This was mainly due to the
larger lumens, fine pores and hydrogen bonding sites in
the bamboo granule. Tensile strength increases with the
increase in PVC content in the bamboo–PVC compos-
ites. That was mainly due to better tensile properties of
PVC comparing to bamboo.
Results suggested that the appropriate size of
bamboo was 40 mesh or 60 mesh, but a big size of
bamboo would affect the tensile strength of bam-
boo–PVC composites. A combination of mid particle
size and 50%wt of bamboo resulted in the best tensile
strength.
(3) Results indicated that when bamboo moisture
content was less than 8%, there was no direct relation-
ship between moisture content of bamboo and MOE of
bamboo–PVC composites. It will make Bamboo-Plastic
Composites frothy if the moisture content of bamboo is
higher than 10%, because too much vapour can not
evaporate in the process of moulding.
(4) To modify the interface between bamboo and
PVC was very important to the mechanical and physical
properties of bamboo–PVC composites. Further ex-
periments should be focused on the modification of
compounding between bamboo particle and PVC. And
also experiments should be adopted to determine the
effect of bamboo moisture content on mechanical
properties of BPCs. But too less moisture content will
harm the dimensional stabilities of bamboo–PVC com-
posites.
33
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