Enhancing Mechanical and Morphological Performance of Recycled Polypropylene Bamboo Fiber Composites Using Palm Stearin Biohybrid Resin

Enhancing Mechanical and Morphological Performance of Recycled Polypropylene Bamboo Fiber Composites Using Palm Stearin Biohybrid Resin | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Enhancing Mechanical and Morphological Performance of Recycled Polypropylene Bamboo Fiber Composites Using Palm Stearin Biohybrid Resin Siti Hasnah Kamarudin, Nur Maisarah Suhaimi, Nurul Alis Syamimi Abd Manap, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8632235/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Plastic pollution has become a critical global concern, with poly(propylene) (PP) being a major contributor to solid waste. Recycling PP (rPP) is a viable strategy to mitigate this issue; however, the material often suffers from degradation and reduced mechanical performance. To overcome these limitations, natural fibers and bio-based additives can be incorporated to improve reinforcement and compatibility. In this study, bamboo fiber (BF) and palm stearin biohybrid resin (PS) were introduced into rPP composites to evaluate their influence on mechanical and morphological properties. Composite specimens were prepared by drying, dispersion mixing, and hot pressing, followed by tensile, flexural, and impact testing. Morphological features were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results revealed that untreated BF reduced tensile (4.37 MPa) and impact strength (6.88 kJ/m²) compared to neat rPP (6.1 MPa and 13.11 kJ/m², respectively). In contrast, the incorporation of treated BF with PS enhanced tensile strength (6.45 MPa, + 5.77%) and impact strength (16.52 kJ/m², + 26.02%). Although flexural strength (36.52 MPa) was lower than neat rPP (42.03 MPa), it remained within acceptable limits for structural applications. SEM analysis confirmed improved fiber dispersion and interfacial adhesion in treated BF–PS composites compared to untreated counterparts. These findings demonstrate that palm stearin biohybrid resin, in combination with treated bamboo fiber, offers a promising pathway to develop sustainable, high-performance rPP-based composites for applications such as eco-friendly pallet production. Recycled polypropylene (rPP) Bamboo fiber Palm stearin biohybrid resin Mechanical properties Morphological analysis Sustainable composites Eco-friendly pallets Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8632235","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":591501781,"identity":"cb91b1e1-7ac4-48d6-b629-e9baf92e8597","order_by":0,"name":"Siti Hasnah 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Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Recycled polypropylene (rPP), Bamboo fiber, Palm stearin biohybrid resin, Mechanical properties, Morphological analysis, Sustainable composites, Eco-friendly pallets","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8632235/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8632235/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003ePlastic pollution has become a critical global concern, with poly(propylene) (PP) being a major contributor to solid waste. Recycling PP (rPP) is a viable strategy to mitigate this issue; however, the material often suffers from degradation and reduced mechanical performance. To overcome these limitations, natural fibers and bio-based additives can be incorporated to improve reinforcement and compatibility. In this study, bamboo fiber (BF) and palm stearin biohybrid resin (PS) were introduced into rPP composites to evaluate their influence on mechanical and morphological properties. Composite specimens were prepared by drying, dispersion mixing, and hot pressing, followed by tensile, flexural, and impact testing. Morphological features were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results revealed that untreated BF reduced tensile (4.37 MPa) and impact strength (6.88 kJ/m\u0026sup2;) compared to neat rPP (6.1 MPa and 13.11 kJ/m\u0026sup2;, respectively). In contrast, the incorporation of treated BF with PS enhanced tensile strength (6.45 MPa, +\u0026thinsp;5.77%) and impact strength (16.52 kJ/m\u0026sup2;, +\u0026thinsp;26.02%). Although flexural strength (36.52 MPa) was lower than neat rPP (42.03 MPa), it remained within acceptable limits for structural applications. SEM analysis confirmed improved fiber dispersion and interfacial adhesion in treated BF\u0026ndash;PS composites compared to untreated counterparts. These findings demonstrate that palm stearin biohybrid resin, in combination with treated bamboo fiber, offers a promising pathway to develop sustainable, high-performance rPP-based composites for applications such as eco-friendly pallet production.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Enhancing Mechanical and Morphological Performance of Recycled Polypropylene Bamboo Fiber Composites Using Palm Stearin Biohybrid Resin","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-16 08:36:51","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8632235/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"8c7de217-b03f-4e1b-9013-c923531436e4","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 16th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Withdrawn","date":"2026-05-13T08:20:38+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-13T08:30:51+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-16 08:36:51","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8632235","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8632235","identity":"rs-8632235","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}