Xusto™ MR Steam Test

In Figure 1, three composite materials were exposed to a steam chamber environment. The steam exposure method was developed to provide an accelerated test to determine effects of exposure to wet or high humidity environments. The three composites shown in the figure were: 1) a standard wood fiber PP composite, 2) a wood fiber PP composite with common coupling agent added, and 3) the Xusto MR PP wood fiber grade. All samples contained 30% wood fiber by weight. The composite samples were exposed to steam for 16 hours. It can easily be seen in the figure that although some darkening is present on the Xusto MR grade, the amount of discoloration and fiber “whitening” is far reduced compared to the other composite samples.

Figure 1. Xusto™ MR composites showing improved moisture resistance over conventional wood plastic composite formulations after steam exposure.

Xusto™ MR Dishwasher Test

Figure 2. Xusto™ MR composite samples of 30% wood fiber PP, shown on the right as molded and after dishwasher environment testing of 125 cycles at 85 deg C. Typical untreated wood fiber (30%) PP samples are shown on the left. Untreated sample at the top and bottom samples exposed to 125 dishwasher cycles at 85 deg C.