Effect of various aging conditions and treatment methods on thermal degradation of coffee waste/epoxy composites

In composites containing lignocellulosic fillers, the chemical composition of the filler mostly determines the heat resistance. Based on the rules of green chemistry, new bio-based composites were developed from the waste of industrial crop product coffee (CW), and their thermal stability in different aging environments was examined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Alkali (NaOH), microwave (MW), ultrasound (US), and alkali pretreatment followed by microwave (NaOH+MW) were applied to modify the CW. The effect of various applied treatment methods and environmental conditions such as UV radiation, water sorption, seawater, and hydrothermally agings on the thermal properties of the composites was investigated. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) were used in the characterization of composites. Among the environmental factors tested, seawater and hydrothermal aging affected the thermal resistance of the composites the most, while NaOH+MW affected it most among the processing methods. Although the thermal stability of unaged and UV-exposed MW-CW composites was found to be the highest, it was more affected by aging in seawater, pure water, and hydrothermal environments. As a result, MW was found to be more effective among the treatment methods in terms of thermal properties under UV conditions, confirming that the adoption of environmentally friendly methods and surface modification of the filler can provide superior composites. [Display omitted] •Various treatment methods were applied for coffee waste filler.•Epoxy composites were aged in UV, seawater, water, and hydrothermal environments.•Seawater and hydrothermal aging had the most impact on thermal properties among the aging conditions tested.•MW-CW composites had higher thermal stability and resistance to UV aging.