Sustainable bio‐composites from agro‐green waste: Optimize the effect of waste ceramic particles filler addition on mechanical performance

Abstract

This investigation focuses on fabrication and statistical optimization of epoxy‐based hybrid composites reinforced with waste ceramic particles (CRP) and crown root fiber (CNF) using Taguchi approach. Composites were fabricated using compression molding and Taguchi L27 orthogonal array was employed to examine the effects of fiber length (10–30 mm), fiber content (30–50 wt %), and filler content (2–6 wt %) on mechanical properties. Experimental results revealed that tensile strength (TS) varied from 32.15 to 46 MPa, flexural strength (FS) from 38.5 to 58.5 MPa, and impact strength (IS) from 36.30 to 55.80 J/m under various parametric settings. The regression models demonstrated strong predictive accuracy, with R ² values of 98.31% (TS), 97.34% (FS), and 98.27% (IS). The ANOVA analysis identified the fiber length as the most significant factor, contributing dominantly to TS ( F  = 282.45), FS ( F  = 34.98), and IS ( F  = 44.64), followed by filler content and fiber content. The optimal parameter combination was determined as 20 mm, 50 wt %, and 4 wt %, yielding peak values of TS = 45.5–46.0 MPa, FS = 58.0–58.5 MPa, and IS = 54–55.8 J/m. The XRD study indicated improved crystallinity of treated CNF with sharper peaks at 2 θ  = 22.94°, FE‐SEM and EDX analysis showed silica‐rich CRP (Si = 17.10 wt %, O = 54.96 wt %) with irregular morphology enabling mechanical interlocking. The findings demonstrate that optimized hybridization of industrial waste fillers and agro‐waste fibers significantly improves mechanical performance, providing a high‐strength, sustainable composite material appropriate for structural applications.