Methacrylic Acid as Chemical Treatment on the Properties of Kapok Husk Filled Linear Low Density Polyethylene Eco-Composites

The effect of methacrylic acid (MAA) as chemical treatment on the properties of kapok husk (KH) filled linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) has been studied. KH, as natural filler was added into LLDPE by using Brabender Plasticizer EC plus at temperature 160 °C. The addition of KH content decreased the tensile strength and elongation at break of the eco-composites, but modulus of elasticity increased. Crystallinity of LLDPE/KH eco-composites decreased with increasing of KH content. Chemical treatment by MAA altered the tensile properties and crystallinity of eco-composites. The treated LLDPE/KH eco-composites showed higher tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and crystallinity of eco-composites due to better interfacial interaction between LLDPE matrix and KH filler. This has proven by Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM)

Development and characterization of green composites from bio-based polyethylene and peanut shell

This is the accepted version of the following article: Garcia-Garcia, D., Carbonell-Verdu, A., Jordá-Vilaplana, A., Balart, R. and Garcia-Sanoguera, D. (2016), Development and characterization of green composites from bio-based polyethylene and peanut shell. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 43940 doi: 10.1002/app.43940, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/app.43940[EN] In the present work, different compatibilizers, namely polyethylene-graft-maleic anhydride (PE-g-MA), polypropylene-graftmaleic anhydride (PP-g-MA), and polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene-graft-maleic anhydride (SEBS-g-MA) were used on green composites derived from biobased polyethylene and peanut shell (PNS) flour to improve particle polymer interaction. Composites of high-density polyethylene/peanut shell powder (HDPE/PNS) with 10 wt % PNS flour were compatibilized with 3 wt % of the abovementioned compatibilizers. As per the results, PP-g-MA copolymer lead to best optimized properties as evidenced by mechanical characterization. In addition, best particle matrix interface interactions with PP-g-MA were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Subsequently HDPE/PNS composites with varying PNS flour content in the 5 30 wt % range with PP-g-MA compatibilizer were obtained by melt extrusion and compounding followed by injection molding and were characterized by mechanical, thermal, and morphological techniques. The results showed that PNS powder, leads to an increase in mechanical resistant properties (mainly, flexural modulus, and strength) while a decrease in mechanical ductile properties, that is, elongation at break and impact absorbed energy is observed with increasing PNS flour content. Furthermore, PNS flour provides an increase in thermal stability due to the natural antioxidant properties of PNS. In particular, composites containing 30 wt % PNS powder present a flexural strength 24% and a flexural modulus 72% higher than the unfilled polyethylene and the thermo-oxidative onset degradation temperature is increased from 232 8C up to 2548C thus indicating a marked thermal stabilization effect. Resultant composites can show a great deal of potential as base materials for wood plastic composites.This research was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness -MINECO, Ref: MAT2014-59242-C2-1-R. Authors also thank to "Conselleria d'Educacio, Cultura i Esport" - Generalitat Valenciana, Ref: GV/2014/008 for financial support. A. Carbonell-Verdu wants to thank Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for financial support through an FPI grant. D. Garcia-Garcia wants to thanks the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports for the financial support through an FPU grant (FPU13/06011).García García, D.; Carbonell Verdú, A.; Jorda-Vilaplana, A.; Balart Gimeno, RA.; García Sanoguera, D. (2016). Development and characterization of green composites from bio-based polyethylene and peanut shell. Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 133(37):1-12. https://doi.org/10.1002/APP.43940S1121333

Manufacturing and properties of biobased thermoplastic composites from poly(lactid acid) and hazelnut shell wastes

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Balart, J.F., Garcia-Sanoguera, David, Balart, Rafael, Boronat, Teodomiro, Sanchez-Nacher, Lourdes. (2018). Manufacturing and properties of biobased thermoplastic composites from poly(lactid acid) and hazelnut shell wastes.Polymer Composites, 39, 3, 848-857. DOI: 10.1002/pc.24007 , which has been published in final form at [Link to final article using the DOI]. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.[EN] Poly(lactic acid), PLA-based green composites were obtained with hazelnut shell flour (HSF) derived from the food industry thus leading to fully biodegradable materials with attracting properties. The hazelnut shell flour content varied in the 10-40wt% range. An increase in the degree of crystallinity with increasing HSF was detected, mainly due to the nucleating effect of lignocellulosic particles. The thermodimensional stability was noticeably improved with increasing HSF amount as evidenced by a remarkable decrease in the coefficient of thermal-linear expansion. Increasing HSF leads to stiffer materials as HSF particles act as interlock points that restrict polymer chain motion. Addition of hazelnut shell flour as filler in PLA-based green composites leads to fully biodegradable composites with balanced mechanical and thermal properties. Furthermore, it gives a solution to upgrade wastes from the hazelnut industry and contributes to lower the cost of PLA-based materials. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:848-857, 2018. (c) 2016 Society of Plastics EngineersContract grant sponsor: Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad-MINECO; contract grant number: MAT2014-59242-C2-1-R; contract grant sponsor: Conselleria d'Educacio, Cultura i Esport; contract grant number: GV/2014/008.Balart, J.; Garcia-Sanoguera, D.; Balart, R.; Boronat, T.; Sanchez-Nacher, L. (2018). Manufacturing and properties of biobased thermoplastic composites from poly(lactid acid) and hazelnut shell wastes. Polymer Composites. 39(3):848-857. doi:10.1002/pc.24007S84885739

Processing and characterization of high environmental efficiency composites based on PLA and hazelnut shell flour (HSF) with biobased plasticizers derived from epoxidized linseed oil (ELO)

[EN] Different amounts of epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) have been added to poly(lactic acid)-PLA composites with hazelnut shell flour (HSF) to provide a plasticizing effect and improve the low intrinsic ductile properties of PLA/HSF composites. Mechanical, thermal, thermo-mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties have been studied in terms of the weight percentage ELO. Mechanical resistant properties in both tensile and flexural tests decrease with wt.% ELO while a remarkable increase with wt.% ELO is obtained. These results reveal a clear plasticization effect of ELO but, in addition, internal structure of PLA/HSF/ELO composites shows good PLA-HSF (matrix-particle) interactions so that indicating that ELO also provides a coupling effect between PLA matrix and HSF filler. ELO addition leads to a decrease in storage modulus (G ) obtained by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) in torsion mode thus giving clear evidence of the plasticization effect of ELO. Overall, the use of ELO in PLA/HSF composites is an attracting way to improve the low intrinsic fragility of these green composites; furthermore, ELO provides an improvement on thermal stability and a coupling effect between the polymer matrix and the surrounding lignocellulosic filler.This research was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness - MINECO, Grant Number: MAT2014-59242-C2-1-R. Authors also thank to "Conselleria d'Educacio, Cultura i Esport" - Generalitat Valenciana, Grant Number: GV/2014/008 for financial support.Balart Gimeno, JF.; Fombuena Borrás, V.; Fenollar Gimeno, OÁ.; Boronat Vitoria, T.; Sánchez Nacher, L. (2016). Processing and characterization of high environmental efficiency composites based on PLA and hazelnut shell flour (HSF) with biobased plasticizers derived from epoxidized linseed oil (ELO). Composites Part B: Engineering. 86:168-177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2015.09.063S1681778

Efect of maleated anhydride on mechanical properties of rice husk filler reinforced PLA Matrix Polymer Composite

Polylactic acid (PLA) formulated from corn starch has a bright potential to replace the non-renewable petroleum-based plastics. The combination of PLA and natural fbre has gained interest due to its unique performance, as reported in many researches and industries. Meanwhile, rice husk produced as the by-product of rice milling can be utilised, unless it is turned completely into waste. Therefore, in the present study, the rice husk powder (RHP) was used as a fller in the PLA, so to determine the infuence of the fller loading on the mechanical properties of the PLA composite. A coupling agent was selected for treatment from two options, i.e., maleic anhydride polypropylene (MAPP) and maleic anhydride polyethylene (MAPE), by applying the agents with various loading contents, such as 2, 4 and 6 wt%. The composite was fabricated by using the hot compression machine. Both the treated and untreated RHP–PLA composites were characterised via the tensile, fexural and impact strength tests. The increase in the RHP loading content led to the decrease in the tensile and fexural strengths. The applications of the coupling agents (MAPE and MAPP) did not improve the tensile and impact strengths, but the fexural strength was enhanced

Thermal transitions and solidification kinetics of poly(lactic acid) and blends with epoxidized natural rubber

This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Thermochimica Acta and the definitive published version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tca.2016.04.004© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. The reactivity of polylactic acid (PLA) with epoxidized natural rubber (ENR50) was confirmed by monitoring the changes in melt viscosity during mixing and by TGA runs. The plasticization resulting from a partial miscibilization of ENR50 during mixing was found to have opposite effects on the crystallization of the PLA matrix, depending on the temperature scanning mode. An increase in heat of crystallization (ΔHc) with increasing temperature scanning rate was observed when heated from the glassy state, while a corresponding reduction in ΔHc was obtained in cooling scans from the melt. Studies on the kinetics of events have shown that the classical Kissinger plots for crystallization by heating from the glassy state display a variable activation energy for the case of the reactive blend. The vitrification kinetics, on the other hand, could be modelled quite accurately with the Mahadevan method for all systems, including an intrinsically amorphous PLA

INFLUENCE OF PACKAGING MATERIAL AND STORAGE TIME ON PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF SET YOGURT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN MODIFIED BIODEGRADABLE POLY(LACTIC ACID) AND POLYPROPYLENE

The current paper investigates the influence of storage time and type of polymeric packaging material on the chemical, physical and microbiological properties of set yogurt. Firstly, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was modified by using a core-shell rubber (CSR) and an acrylic processing aid (PA) to produce PLA with high toughness and good processability. Secondly, an appropriate PLA/PA/CSR composition was selected and fabricated to yogurt cup. The yogurt was stored in both modified PLA and polypropylene (PP) packages to observe some physical, chemical and biological changes. Finally, the biodegradation test was made on both packages and compared with that cellulose. Experimental results revealed that adding 5wt% CSR gave PLA/PA as tough as PP. Types of packaging material and storage time did not change the color of yogurt. The number of lactic acid bacteria grew significantly after they had been incubated for 6 days. The bacterial viability decreased dramatically due to the increased acidity and the decreased pH. A positive impact on the viability of bacterial growth was found when yogurt was stored in modified PLA package. This made yogurt had more health benefits than stored in PP package. The biodegradation test results indicated that the modified PLA degraded at a rapid rate. It achieved approximately 50% biodegradation within 40 days which was comparable to the time required to degrade the cellulose, whereas PP was non-biodegradable over the period studied. In summary, substitution conventional PP by a novel modified PLA seems to be a better way for both the health and the environment benefits

A circular economy use of waste metalized plastic film as a reinforcing filler in recycled polypropylene packaging for injection molding applications

In the recycling point of view, the metalized plastic film is widely known to be one of the most difficult materials to be recycled due to its structural complexity. This paper investigates the effects of the ground metalized-plastic film (MF) as a filler and reinforcement in recycled polypropylene (rPP) packaging to produce a new material through circular economy. MF was incorporated to rPP from 2 to 10 wt% and it was processed by using a twin-screw extruder and an injection molding machine. For MF, elemental analysis, and x-ray diffractometer (XRD) confirmed the existence of C, O, and Al, while the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) result evidenced the melting position of linear-low density polyethylene (LLDPE). For, rPP/MF composites, MF was found to significantly reinforce rPP with the increased tensile strength. A maximum increase of the tensile strength by around 33% was observed when MF was added at 8 wt%. Elongation at break was found to reduce with MF loading. However, there was no significant difference among rPP with 6–10 wt% MF. DSC results indicated the shifts of both crystallization and melting peaks together with the reduction of the degree of crystallinity (Xc). Based on the tensile strength, tensile elongation at break results together with the statistical analysis and waste utilization issues, the rPP with 10 wt% MF formulation was selected as a final product prototyping

บรรจุภัณฑ์อาหารต้านจุลินทรีย์จากพลาสติกย่อยสลายได้ทางชีวภาพ ผสมน้ำมันหอมระเหยAntimicrobial Packaging from Biodegradable Plastics and Essential Oils Blends

บทคัดย่อในอดีต อันตรกิริยาระหว่างอาหารกับบรรจุภัณฑ์นั้นไม่ได้รับการยอมรับเนื่องจากมีความเชื่อว่าทำให้เกิดการเปลี่ยนแปลงคุณภาพของอาหาร แต่ในปัจจุบัน หลายงานวิจัยได้พิสูจน์แล้วว่าการเกิดอันตรกิริยาบางอย่างระหว่างอาหารและบรรจุภัณฑ์นั้นไม่ส่งผลเสียต่อคุณภาพของอาหาร อีกทั้งยังสามารถชะลอการเสื่อมเสียของอาหารได้ ดังนั้นเทคโนโลยีบรรจุภัณฑ์ต้านจุลินทรีย์จึงเป็นหนึ่งในแนวคิดที่เหนี่ยวนำให้เกิดอันตรกิริยาระหว่างอาหารและบรรจุภัณฑ์ในขณะที่รักษาคุณภาพทางโภชนาการ คุณสมบัติรวมทั้งความปลอดภัยของอาหารไว้ไม่เปลี่ยนไป โดยสารเติมแต่งที่นิยมใช้เพื่อเป็นสารต้านจุลินทรีย์เป็นสารกลุ่มน้ำมันหอมระเหยซึ่งได้จากการสกัดสารสำคัญทางธรรมชาติจากพืช โดยสารเหล่านี้สามารถออกฤทธิ์ในการยับยั้งการเจริญเติบโตของจุลินทรีย์ทั้งในกลุ่ม เชื้อรา ยีสต์และแบคทีเรีย ซึ่งทำให้อาหารเสื่อมเสียและสามารถก่อโรคได้ ส่วนพลาสติกชีวภาพนั้นเป็นวัสดุที่มีแนวโน้มจะนำมาใช้เพื่อทดแทนพลาสติกจากปิโตรเลียมในอนาคต ในเชิงพาณิชย์นั้นได้มีการนำเอาพลาสติกชีวภาพมาใช้เป็นบรรจุภัณฑ์อาหารเนื่องจากมีสมบัติทางกลที่ดีพร้อมทั้งยังสามารถย่อยสลายได้ทางชีวภาพอีกด้วย ทั้งนี้เพื่อเป็นการลดปริมาณขยะพลาสติกจากปิโตรเลียมพร้อมทั้งยืดอายุของอาหารที่บรรจุอยู่ในบรรจุภัณฑ์ นักวิจัยหลายกลุ่มจึงได้พัฒนาบรรจุภัณฑ์จากพลาสติกชีวภาพต้านจุลินทรีย์ขึ้นในช่วงทศวรรษที่ผ่านมา บทความนี้ได้กล่าวถึง ข้อมูลเบื้องต้นของพลาสติกชีวภาพ การเสื่อมเสียของอาหารเนื่องจากจุลินทรีย์ การเคลื่อนย้ายของสารต้านจุลินทรีย์จากบรรจุภัณฑ์สู่อาหารรวมไปถึงเทคโนโลยีการใช้สารต้านจุลินทรีย์ในบรรจุภัณฑ์พลาสติกชีวภาพกับอาหารประเภทต่างๆAbstractThe interaction between food and packaging was unacceptable in the past. It was believed to be altered the food quality. However, numerous literatures have proven that the specific interactions between food and packaging do not affect the quality of the food and it can also slow down the deterioration of food. Antimicrobial packaging technology is one of the concepts that induce interactions between food and packaging while maintaining the food properties, safety and nutritional quality. Generally, the additives used as an antimicrobial agent are essential oils, which extracted from plants. These essential oils are able to inhibit the growth of fungus, yeast, bacteria, food spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms. Bioplastics is expected to replace plastics from petroleum in the near future. Commercially, bioplastics were used for the food packaging applications due to their good mechanical properties and biodegradability. To reduce the plastic wastes together with the shelf life extension of food, many researchers have developed antimicrobial bioplastic packaging in the past decade. This article discusses the introduction to bioplastics, deterioration of food due to microorganisms, migration of antimicrobial agents from packaging to food as well as the antimicrobial packaging technology with various foods