Bamboo-plastic composite with MMA

Bamboo-plastic composite (BPC) was prepared under Co-60 gamma radiation with Talla bamboo of Bangladesh using methyl methyacrylate (MMA) as the bulk monomer combined with methanol at different proportions. Skin, and middle and inner portions of bamboo were longitudinally separated and were used for making the BPC. The polymer loading increased very slightly and the tensile strength (TS) of the composite was enhanced by 9%-12%. However, incorporation of some additives such as NVP, TPGDA, TMPTA, LiNO3, and urea to the bulk monomer enhanced the TS values further. Lithium yielded the highest TS values, increased by 43%, and bending strength (BS), increased by 59%. When urea was mixed with lithium, the corresponding TS value increased to 48% with the middle part of the bamboo. Water absorption was low with BPC compared to the untreated bamboo.