Responding to the community demand for disposal of environmental problematic agricultural and
polymer waste, composite sheets using recycled low-density polyethylene (R-LDPE) and corn husk fibers
were prepared by melt compounding and compression molding. These composites were prepared in
different concentrations (5, 10, 15, and 20%) of powder corn husk with 125 m particle size based on RLDPE
matrix. Beside the importance of property improvement, an additional incentive was responding to
the social demand for the disposal of environmental problematic agricultural waste. The influence of
loading rate on R-LDPE crystallization behavior, mechanical, and swilling properties were investigated.
Increasing in fiber loading led to increased moduli and tensile strength while hardness was decreased. Xray
diffraction (XRD) examinations indicated that introducing fiber to R-LDPE matrix did not change
characteristic peak position. The thermal stability of the prepared composites was evaluated using differential
scanning calorimetry (DSC) which displayed that the R-LDPE had significantly larger peak heat
flow during cooling run than the blank R-LDPE, indicating higher crystallization rates for R-LDPE. The
prepared composites materials can be used in packaging applications.