Preparation and characterization of polylactic acid based polyurethane for environmental friendly packaging materials

Conventional packaging materials are mostly produced using petroleum-based substances and its’ non-biodegradability are causing landfill problems. Therefore, researches have been done to replace the non-degradable polymer substances to degradable polymers. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a type of biodegradable polymer which is brittle but has good mechanical strength, which makes it a suitable polymer to be used as packaging materials. To improve the flexibility of PLA, PLA based polyurethanes (PUs) are produced by using PLA-diol with vegetable oil polyol as the chain extender. Palm oil polyol (PO) is a type of vegetable oil polyol which are used in various productions of PUs. In this study, PO polyol is used as soft segment to improve the flexibility of PLA whereas hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and toluene diisocyanate (TDI) are used as a source of isocyanate. PLA/Palm oil polyol based polyurethanes (PLAPOPUs) are synthesized using one-shot and two steps polymerization method. Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FT-IR) spectra confirmed on the formation of urethane bond and glass transition temperature was analyzed using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The PLAPOPU prepared using HDI through one-step method has high potential to be used in environmental friendly packaging industries

The effect of alkali treated pineapple fibre on the properties of plasticized polylactic acid/epoxy palm oil blend

Natural fibers are low cost, renewable, and environmentally friendly, and are suitable to be used as reinforcing agent to improve the properties of biopolymers. In this study, polylactic acid (PLA) based bioplastic composites reinforced with treated pineapple fibers (PALFs) and plasticized with epoxy palm oil were fabricated using melt blending method. Important parameter for surface treatment of fiber is the concentration of alkali used where it will disrupt the surface of the fiber and then functionalize it. Therefore, PALFs were alkali treated with 10%, 15%, and 20% potassium hydroxide (KOH) for 24 hours to improve the interaction between the fiber and PLA matrix. The composites were characterized using universal tensile test to evaluate the impact of alkali treatment on the mechanical properties on PLA/EPO/PALF blend, followed by differential screening calorimetry (DSC) test, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to observe the surface morphology of the composites. The composite with 15% KOH treated PALF was found to possess the highest stress, while the composite with 10% KOH treated PALF possessed the highest elongation-at-break which were obtained from the tensile properties. Incorporation of fibers into plasticized PLA further reduced the glass transition temperature which indicated increased chain mobility. Whereas, surface morphologies for tensile failed samples of treated fibers composites showed exfoliated fiber structures compared to the untreated fibers. These plasticized PLA/fiber composites treated with alkali showed enhanced properties compared to the untreated, in which, it showed the high potential of these composites to be used for environmental friendly packaging materials

Plasticizing poly(lactic acid) using epoxidized palm oil for environmental friendly packaging material = Peningkatan fleksibiliti poli(laktik asid) menggunakan minyak kelapa sawit terepoksi untuk aplikasi pembungkus mesra alam

Petrochemical based polymers used in packaging materials are causing various environmental problems. Therefore, biopolymers prepared from renewable sources have high potential to substitute the commercially available non-degradable polymer. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is one of the biodegradable polymers that can be used to substitute in the application of petrochemicalbased polymers. Environmental friendly and biodegradable epoxidized palm oil (EPO) was used as plasticizer in this study and it was incorporated into PLA matrix through solution blending method. The mechanical properties were determined through three-point flexural test and tensile test. Tensile results revealed that the flexibility of PLA can be improved by the addition of epoxidized palm oil (EPO) as plasticizer in the polymer. PLA/EPO blend at ratio 100:10 showed significant flexibility among the other PLA/EPO blends. The thermal properties of neat PLA and PLA/EPO blends were characterized by using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The glass transition temperature (Tg) decreased by addition of plasticizer, indicated the chain mobility of PLA increased in the PLA/EPO blends system. The improved flexibility of PLA by using EPO as plasticizer showed that it has high potential to be used as environmental-friendly packaging material. Barangan dari sumber yang boleh diperbaharui boleh mewujudkan satu platform untuk menggantikan polimer berasaskan petroleum yang diketahui tidak mampu terbiodegradasi. Poli(laktik asid) (PLA) adalah antara polimer yang boleh biodegradasi secara semula jadi dan dipercayai boleh menjadi pengganti bagi penggunaan polimer petrokimia. Pemplastik yang terbiodegradasi boleh digunakan untuk meningkatkan fleksibiliti PLA. PLA/EPO telah dicampurkan dengan nisbah tertentu dan sifat mekanikal dan haba bahan ini telah dikaji. Sifat mekanik polimer/pemplastik ditentukan melalui ujian lenturan mekanik dan ujian tegangan. Hasil kajian tegangan bahan menunjukkan bahawa fleksibiliti PLA boleh dipertingkatkan dengan penambahan minyak kelapa sawat terepoksi (EPO) sebagai pemplastik dalam polimer. Ia telah membuktikan bahawa kandungan 100:10 PLA/EPO adalah nisbah yang paling sesuai untuk campuran PLA/EPO. Ciri – ciri haba diperolehi dengan menggunakan Kalorimeter Pengimbasan Perbezaan (DSC). Pemplastik didapati mengurangkan suhu peralihan kaca PLA. EPO didapati meningkatkan tekanan tegangan dan pemanjangan di dalam PLA/EPO. Peningkatan fleksibiliti PLA menerusi penggunaan EPO membuktikan bahawa PLA/EPO boleh digunakan untuk pengunaan bungkusan mesra ala

Sustainable biopolymers for environmental friendly packaging materials

Petroleum based packaging materials creates a waste disposal problem due to the nature of their degradation (them being nonbiodegradable). Polylactic acid (PLA) is a thermoplastic polymer derived from renewable resources with suitable biodegradation rate and properties comparable to conventional plastics. This study aims to improve the general properties of PLA and to reduce the cost of PLA-based products by producing blends, filler-reinforced composites and polyurethane

Preparation and characterization of plasticized polylactic acid/starch blend

Petroleum based packaging materials has raised environmental concerns due to its non-environmentally friendly degradation. Conventional plastic takes a long time to degrade and remains in the waste dump. Since then, attention to biodegradable plastics has been heightened for its greener degradation. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a renewable polymer with mechanical properties comparable to those of the conventional plastics. This study aims to improve the mechanical and thermal properties and reducing the cost of PLA production by blending PLA with starch as filler and epoxy palm oil (EPO) as plasticizer. The PLA/starch/EPO blends were prepared by solution casting and melt blending methods and properties of the blends were studied and characterized. The thermal properties of plasticized PLA/starch were investigated by Differential Screening Calorimetry (DSC) followed by Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FT-IR) in order to observe the degree of interaction of plasticized PLA/starch blend. The mechanical properties were investigated using Universal Tensile Test

Enhanced Flexibility of Biodegradable Polylactic Acid/Starch Blends Using Epoxidized Palm Oil as Plasticizer

The brittleness of polylactic acid (PLA) has always limited its usage, although it has good mechanical strength. In this study, flexibility of PLA/starch (PSt) blend was enhanced using epoxidized palm oil (EPO) as the green plasticizer. The PLA/starch/EPO (PSE) blends were prepared while using the solution casting method by fixing the content of starch and varying ratio of EPO. The thermal properties, such as glass transition temperature (Tg), melting temperature (Tm), and crystallization temperature (Tcc) were decreased by increasing the amount of EPO into PSt, indicating that EPO increases the chain mobility. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that thermal degradation resistance of PSE was higher when compared to PSt. The mechanical testing revealed that EPO at all contents improved the mechanical properties, such as increment of the elongation-at-break and impact strength. Whereas, dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the addition of filler into PLA decreased the storage modulus of PLA. The carbonyl group of the aliphatic ester remained the same in the PSE blends. The morphological study verified the ductility of PSE blends surface when compared to the brittle surface of PSt. As for the soil burial tests, EPO accelerated the degradation of blends. From these results, it can be concluded that EPO improved the flexibility of PLA blends