Plant fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composition
The present invention is directed to plant fiber-reinforced thermoplastic compositions and a method for reinforcing thermoplastic resins. The present invention provides a use for the cellulose portion of a plant material, which is the portion left over after processing the selected plant materials to separate the hemi-cellulose and lignin from the cellulose.
1. A reinforced thermoplastic resin composition comprising:
a) a thermoplastic material; and
b) from about 1 to about 60 weight percent cellulose fibers based on the weight of the composition, the cellulose fibers obtained by the separation of the cellulose fiber fraction from hemi-cellulose and lignin fractions of flax in a decortication process that does not include hammering or bending/flexing the flax.
2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the cellulose fibers and the thermoplastic are molecularly bonded to one another.
3. The composition of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic is a polyolefin or polyamide or an engineering plastic.
4. The composition of claim 3 wherein the thermoplastic material is polypropylene or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.
5. The composition of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic material and cellulose fibers are homogeneously dispersed throughout the composition.