scholarly journals Rotational Molding of Poly(Lactic Acid)/Polyethylene Blends: Effects of the Mixing Strategy on the Physical and Mechanical Properties

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Eduardo Ruiz-Silva ◽  
Mirleth Rodríguez-Ortega ◽  
Luis Carlos Rosales-Rivera ◽  
Francisco Javier Moscoso-Sánchez ◽  
Denis Rodrigue ◽  
...  

In this study, blends of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/linear medium density polyethylene (LMDPE) at different weight ratios were prepared by rotational molding. Two mixing strategies were used to evaluate the effect of phase dispersion on the physical and mechanical properties: (i) Dry-blending (DB) using a high shear mixer, and (ii) melt-blending (MB) using a twin-screw extruder. Thermal, morphological, and mechanical analyses were performed on the neat polymers and their blends. The thermal analysis was completed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and the blends prepared by MB had lower thermal stability than the ones prepared via DB due to some thermo-oxidative degradation through the double thermal process (extrusion and rotomolding). The morphology of the rotomolded parts showed that DB generated larger particle sizes (around 500 µm) compared to MB (around 5 µm) due to the shear and elongational stresses applied during extrusion. The tensile and flexural properties of the rotomolded parts combined the PLA stiffness with the LMDPE toughness independent of the blending technique. Neat PLA presented increments in tensile strength (54%) and flexural strength (111%) for DB compared with MB. A synergistic effect in impact strength was observed in blends with 12 and 25 wt. % of PLA prepared by DB.

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (10) ◽  
pp. 1383-1395
Author(s):  
Hongjuan Zheng ◽  
Zhengqian Sun ◽  
Hongjuan Zhang

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has good environmental compatibility, however, its high brittleness, slow rate of crystallization, and low heat distortion temperature restrict its widespread use. To overcome these limitations, in this study, PLA was mixed with walnut shell (WS) powders. The effects of WS powders on the morphology and the thermal and mechanical properties of PLA were investigated. The products were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, polarizing optical microscopy (POM), and various mechanical property testing techniques. The results showed that WS powders had a significant effect on the morphology and the thermal and mechanical properties of PLA. The tensile strength, impact strength, and elongation at break of the PLA/WS composites first increased and then decreased with the increasing addition of WS powders. When the addition of WS powders was about 0.5 wt%, they reached maximum values of 51.2 MPa, 23.3 MPa, and 19.0%, respectively. Compared with neat PLA, the spherulite grain size of the composites could be reduced and many irregular polygons were formed during crystallization. The melting, cold crystallization, and glass-transition temperatures of the composites were lower than those of neat PLA.


2012 ◽  
Vol 204-208 ◽  
pp. 4088-4092
Author(s):  
Ming Ming Zhang ◽  
Xiao Huan Liu ◽  
Chun Peng Wang ◽  
Li Wei Jin

The blend composite materials of bio-ethanol byproduct-Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were produced by a twin-screw extrusion process. Effects of bio-ethanol byproduct (BEB) contents and different compatibilizers on properties of composite materials were investigated. The research showed that with the increase of contents of bio-ethanol byproduct, the mechanical properties decreased. The mechanical properties of composites were improved by adding the compatibilizers, especially the polypropylene grafted maleic anhydride (PP-MAH). When the PP-MAH content was 2.5%, the mechanical properties of the composite materials were superior to others.


2018 ◽  
Vol 917 ◽  
pp. 37-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Khusairy bin Bakri ◽  
Elammaran Jayamani ◽  
Soon Kok Heng ◽  
Akshay Kakar

In this short review paper, the physical and mechanical properties of acacia wood, poly lactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) were analyzed. Existing factors that affect the mechanical properties of natural fiber composites were investigated and identified. By knowing these factors, a possibility and potentiality in implementing the natural acacia wood reinforced material with hybrid polymer were discussed. It was found that the acacia wood had the potential to re-condition soil and have the potential to become reinforced materials in hybrid polymer composites. In addition, using fully biodegradable polymer such as PLA and PHA made it sustainable and environmentally friendly.


2017 ◽  
Vol 737 ◽  
pp. 256-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Boruvka ◽  
Luboš Bĕhálek

Cellulose is almost inexhaustible source of raw material comprising at least one-third of all biomass matter. Through deconstruction of cellulose hierarchical structure can be extracted highly crystalline cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) with impressive properties. However, the main barrier in the processing of the nanocomposites based on CNC is their inhomogeneous dispersion and distribution in the non-polar polymer matrix. In this paper is this problem addressed by use of novel hydrophobic lignin coated CNC as a biobased nucleation agents in poly (lactic acid) (PLA) nanocomposites. These green nanocomposites based on natural plant derived substances have enormous potential to replace materials originated from non-renewable resources and show promise of providing degradation back into the environment when they are no longer needed. Resulted composites prepared by twin screw extrusion and injection moulding were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The addition of L-CNC (1, 2 and 3 wt. %) into PLA increased melt crystallization enthalpy and decreases the cold crystallization enthalpy. The degree of crystallinity (cc) increased from 5.6 % (virgin PLA) to 8.5 % (PLA/1-L-CNC), 10.3 % (PLA/2-L-CNC) and 10.7 % (PLA/3-L-CNC). The wide range of degradation temperatures of lignin coating has been observed starting at 100 °C.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 2861
Author(s):  
Zhi-Jun Chen ◽  
Chi-Hui Tsou ◽  
Meng-Lin Tsai ◽  
Jipeng Guo ◽  
Manuel Reyes De Guzman ◽  
...  

Adding natural biomass to poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as a reinforcing filler is a way to change the properties of PLA. This paper is about preparing PLA/biomass composites by physically melting and blending Chinese Spirits distiller’s grains (CSDG) biomass and PLA to optimize the composite performance. Composites of modified PLA (MPLA) with varying amounts of CSDG were also prepared by the melt-mixing method, and unmodified PLA/CSDG composites were used as a control group for comparative analysis. The functional groups of MPLA enhanced the compatibility between the polymer substrate and CSDG. The composite water vapor/oxygen barrier and mechanical properties were studied. It was found that the barrier and mechanical properties of MPLA/CSDG composites were significantly improved. SEM was adopted to examine the tensile section structure of the composites, and the compatibility between the filler and the matrix was analyzed. An appropriate amount of CSDG had a better dispersibility in the matrix, and it further improved the interfacial bonding force, which in turn improved the composite mechanical properties. X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry were conducted to determine the crystalline properties and to analyze the stability of the composites. It was found that the CSDG content had a significant effect on the crystallinity. Barrier and biodegradation mechanisms were also discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kittithorn Lertphirun ◽  
Kawee Srikulkit

Hydrophobic cellulose/SiO2 composites were prepared. Resultant hydrophobic cellulose/SiO2 composites were melt mixed with PLA using a twin-screw extruder to obtain 10 wt% masterbatch. Again, 10 wt% masterbatch was melt mixed with virgin PLA, resulting in PLA containing hydrophobic cellulose/SiO2 at various contents (1 wt%, 3 wt%, and 5 wt%) using a twin-screw extruder (barrel zone temperature: 150/160/170/180/190°C (die zone)). Injection-molded samples were prepared for mechanical properties evaluation. Results showed that poor mechanical properties found at low percent loadings were associated with a significant depolymerization of masterbatch composition due to twice thermal treatments. Note that 10 wt% masterbatch was subjected to injection molding straight away in a one-step process. Results showed that 10 wt% hydrophobic cellulose/SiO2/PLA composites exhibited mechanical properties equivalent to neat PLA. Importantly, the addition of hydrophobic cellulose/SiO2 at high percent loading could favor landfill degradation of PLA via water absorption ability of cellulose. It was expected that enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose resulted in the formation of lactic acid and silicic acid which consequently catalyzed the hydrolytic degradation (acid hydrolysis) of PLA. The hydrolytic degradation produced carboxylic acid end group which further accelerated the degradation rate.


2020 ◽  
Vol 856 ◽  
pp. 331-338
Author(s):  
Sirisart Ouajai ◽  
Suttinun Phongtamrug

This research has focused on the effect of modified cellulose and clay on the thermal and mechanical properties of PLA bio-nanocomposite. Cellulose was chemically modified with silane coupling agent in order to enhance compatiblization with PLA. Successful modification was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and EDX-SEM. PLA was compounded with various amounts and ratios of the modified cellulose and clay by a twin-screw extruder. Thermal properties of the bio-nanocomposites were characterized by Thermogravimetric Analysis and Differential Scanning Calorimetry. Glass transition temperature of the bio-nanocomposite slightly decreased whereas melting temperature remained constant when the amount of both fillers was increased. In addition, crystallization behaviour of PLA has been influenced by the type and amount of the fillers. Clay showed a greater effect on the crystallization of PLA than the modified cellulose and unmodified one, respectively. The flexural modulus of the composite containing equal amount between clay and cellulose was increased with an increasing in fillers contents. But the flexural and impact strength of composite were gradually decreased with an increase in fillers contents. Variation of clay and cellulose ratio resulted in the change of mechanical properties. The composite containing higher ratio between clay:cellulose or cellulose:clay showed a better mechnical properties comparing to the ratio of clay:cellulose equal to 1:1.


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