Abstract: In the present study, distiller grain (DG) was introduced into polypropylene (PP) forming composites through melt blending. The effect of content and particle size of DG on the mechanical properties and crystallization behavior of PP/DG composites was investigated. It was found that the thermal stability and flame retardancy were improved with the addition of DG(100 μm). The crystallization temperature increased with increasing content of DG, indicating a heterogeneous nucleation effect. The mechanical properties of composites increased with increasing size of DG. Compared with neat PP, the Izod impact strength of the composites containing 10 wt % of DG increased by 55.2 %, the tensile strength increased by 9.3 %. When 2wt % of PP-g-MAH was introduced as a compatibilizer, an increase of 4.1 % of tensile strength was observed. The fracture surfaces of the composites reveal that interfacial bonding between the filler and the matrix was significantly improved with the addition of PP-g-MAH.

Key words: polypropylene, distiller grain, thermal stability, mechanical property, reinforcement