OBTAINING, CHARACTERIZING AND APPLYING A COMPOSITE OF POLYESTER MATRIX AND POWDER LOAD OF CARNAÚBA
Keywords: Carnauba, petioles, polymeric composite, filler and residues.
The carnauba, the tree of life is a palm tree found in regions of Brazil and has many applications, from electronics to cosmetics, with a greater emphasis on wax. A polymer matrix composite of polyester resin and petiole powder, a fibrous part of the straw, was obtained and studied. The powder was obtained using forage grinding and subsequent sieving, generation residues with different grain sizes. All the obtained granulometries were tested and the smaller one was chosen, due to is greater viability to obtain the composite, due to is better processability. Three mass proportions of the mixture between matrix and residues were chosen, 5%, 7.5% e 10%, since above that percentage there was a compromise in the processability and obtaining the composite studied. Mechanical, thermal and environmental characterizations were performed, which demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed composite. The carnauba powder was shown to be present in the composite as filler. The best formulation, 10%, was chosen for the manufacture of a decorative panel to be used as TV stand and could also be used for the manufacture of furniture and parabolas for solar cookers.