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

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

‘Green, versatile, and Sustainable’ make palm oil (PO) an excellent source to be used in polyurethane (PU) especially for commercialization. Vegetable oil-based polyols are used in many productions of PU including palm oil-based (PO) polyol. Polyol can be polymerized through urethane linkages with biodegdable polymer. 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 in synthesis of polyurethane for green packaging material. PO polyol was used as soft segments to improve the brittleness and flexibility of PLA and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) is source of isocyanate. PLA/Palm oil based polyurethane (PLAPOPU) was synthesized using one-shot polymerization process at predetermined ratio to achieve optimum physical properties. This polymerized PLAPOPU has high potential to be used in environmental friendly packaging industries

Solid waste management in Africa: A review

As a result of globalization, the quantity and generation rate of solid waste in Africa have increased tremendously and this calls for the need to salvage the situation before it gets out of hand. This article presents the review of solid waste trends in Africa from the pre-colonial era till the present day. It also discusses the composition of solid wastes, collection, transportation and disposal in different African countries. Different types of waste have been generated over the years but the management strategies implemented are inadequate. Waste management in African is faced with numerous challenges and recommendations for improved and efficient solid waste management have been proposed