Matrix-filler interactions in a co-ground ecocomposite: surface properties and behaviour in water

Ecocomposites made up of polystyrene and starch were produced by co-grinding. The mechanism by which the composite is formed was identified by following the particle size and morphology. The size reduction of the matrix particles is favoured by the presence of starch which adheres on polystyrene surface, playing the role of agglomeration inhibitor between matrix particles. Thus, the filler is well dispersed in the matrix, permitting a good homogeneity of the composite properties. The hydrophilic behaviour of starch is reduced by co-grinding, resulting of a decrease of the acid and non dispersive components of the surface energies. Consequently the interactions between the initially hydrophobic matrix and hydrophilic filler are enhanced without using a compatibilizer. Thus, the water-resistance of the co-ground composite materials is better compared to blends since blends pellets introduced in water are rapidly disintegrated while an adapted co-grinding time permits to avoid this problem. It was seen that the diffusion coefficient of water in the composite pellets decreases with an increase of the co-grinding time for the lower filler rates, while it is the opposite for high filler rates. Moreover, the diffusion coefficient increases with the filler ratio

Utilization of Micro Sisal Fibers as Reinforcement Agent and Polypropylene or Polylactic Acid as Polymer Matrices in Biocomposites Manufacture

Sisal (Agave sisalana) as a perennial tropical plant grows abundantly in Indonesia. Its fibers can be used as the reinforcement agent of biocomposite products. Utilization of sisal as natural fiber has some notable benefits compared to synthetic fibers, such as renewable, light in weight, and low in cost. Manufacture of biocomposite requires the use of matrix such as thermoplastic polymer, e.g. polypropylene (PP) and polylactic acid (PLA) to bond together with the reinforcement agent (e.g. sisal fibers). In relevant, experiment was conducted on biocomposites manufacture that comprised sisal fibers and PP as well as PLA. Sisal fibers were converted into pulp, then refined to micro-size fibrillated fibers such that their diameter reduced to about 10 μm, and dried in an oven. The dry microfibrillated sisal pulp fibers cellulose (MSFC) were thoroughly mixed with either PP or PLA with varying ratios of MSFC/PP as well as MSFC/PLA, and then shaped into the mat (i.e. MSFC-PP and MSFC-PLA biocomposites). Two kinds of shaping was employed, i.e. hot-press molding and injection molding. In the hot-press molding, the ratio of MSFC/PP as well as MSFC/PLA ranged about 30/70-50/50. Meanwhile in the injection (employed only on assembling the MSFC-PLA biocomposite), the ratio of MSFC/PLA varied about 10/90-30/70. The resulting shaped MSFC-PP and MSFC-PLA biocomposites were then tested of its physical and mechanical properties. With the hot-press molding device, the physical and mechanical (strength) properties of MSFC-PLA biocomposite were higher than those of MSFC-PP biocomposite. The optimum ratio of MSFC/PP as well as MSFC/PLA reached concurrently at 40/60. The strengths of MSFC-PP as well as MSFC-PLA biocomposites were greater than those of individual polymer (PP and PLA). With the injection molding device, only the MSFC-PLA biocomposite was formed and its strengths reached maximum at 30/70 ratio. The particular strengths (MOR and MOE) of MSFC-PLA biocomposite shaped with injection molding were lower than those with hot-press molding, both at 30/70 ratio. The overall MOR of such MSFC- PLA biocomposite was lower than that of pure PLA, while its MOE was still mostly higher

Physical and Chemical treatments on Chitosan Matrix to modify film properties and kinetics of biodegradation

This work was focused on analyzing the effect produced by the addition of tannic acid as a crosslinking agent of chitosan matrix and the influence of the heat treatment applied. Taking into account those aspects relevant for packaging applications, thermal stability, mechanical properties, water resistance and kinetics of biodegradation of the film were monitored. The chemical crosslinking as well as the curing of the matrices have improved the mechanical properties and those related to the water affinity such as solubility, permeability and contact angle. Although both processes had an influence on the extent of the film degradation, these materials conserved their biodegradable character. Moreover, it was observed a synergistic effect of both chemical and physical treatments since the two processes in simultaneous caused further delay in the biodegradation. Consequently, in these materials the access to fungal attack and all those reactions mediated by the presence of water were restricted, which confirmed the higher stability of the matrices submitted to chemical or physical crosslinking.Fil: Rivero, Sandra G. M.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Investigaciones en Criotecnología de Alimentos (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Maria Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Investigaciones en Criotecnología de Alimentos (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; ArgentinaFil: Pinotti, Adriana Noemi. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Investigaciones en Criotecnología de Alimentos (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ingenieria; Argentin

Using Factorial Design Methodology to Assess PLA-g-Ma and Henequen Microfibrillated Cellulose Content on the Mechanical Properties of Poly(lactic acid) Composites

In this work, a 22 factorial design was used to study the effect of microfibrillated henequen cellulose fibers (HENCEL) and PLA-g-MA coupling agent contents on the tensile, flexural, and impact mechanical properties and the heat deflection temperature (HDT) of biodegradable PLA composites. The results show that the principal effects of HENCEL and MA are statistically significant for the tensile, flexural, HDT, and impact strength properties of PLA composites. Regarding the interactions between the principle effects, MA-HENCEL, there are differences with respect to the mechanical property; for example, for tensile and flexural mechanical properties, there is a synergistic effect between MA and HENCEL, whereas for HDT and impact strength there is not any. The micromechanical analysis shows an excellent agreement between the measured and the estimated values for both the composite tensile strength and the elastic modulus and only slight deviations were noticed for high microfibrillated cellulose fibers content. The morphological analysis via SEM indicated that the addition of PLA-g-MA improved the fiber-matrix adhesion because of the HENCEL unbounding and pull-out decreases from the PLA matrix. The use of appropriate values of matrix strength and stiffness and considering the improved fiber-matrix adhesion of the coupling agent yield a good agreement between experimental and estimated values

Mechanical properties and antimicrobial activity of pumice stone/sludge filled thermosetting composites

The exploitation of natural quarries generates a high amount of waste as a result of the extraction, screening and segmentation processes. These usually inert wastes are not typically reused and end up in landfills. There is an urgent need for sustainable solutions aiming at the valorisation of these mineral wastes through the development of innovative products with greater added value and active functionalities. In this work, the applicability of different mineral wastes was tested on the development of advanced active ecocomposites. Several formulations/ conditions, using green epoxy and polyester matrixes, were assessed in order to determine the reasonable production parameters. Additionally, two different antibacterial agents were added and the efficacy was tested. The overall mechanical performance of the ecocomposite was evaluated during every stage of development. The combination of dried sludge and green epoxy resin (SE_70), containing 70% of mineral waste, revealed to be most promising composition with interesting mechanical properties (tensile strength 91.63 ± 3.31 (MPa); strain (%) 0.69 ± 0.05; and Young’s modulus (GPa) 13.65 ± 0.64). The functionalization of these samples was successful and the antibacterial activity was confirmed. However, the active agent affected the short-term mechanical properties. Nevertheless, the QUV® accelerated weathering test confirmed that the main long-term properties were unaffected. Thus, it is concluded that mineral waste from quarry activities can be use in the development of new sustainable added value advanced products.This work was supported by Operational Programme “Regional Azores 2014–2020”, through project Basalt Waste Composite (ACORES01-0247-FEDER-000013), Portugal

Characterization and degradation characteristics of poly(ε-caprolactone)-based composites reinforced with almond skin residues

Poly(ε-caprolactone), PCL, degradation by microorganisms is a very interesting feature for its potential use in massive applications, such as food packaging. Blends of PCL with natural fibres, such as those from agricultural and food processing wastes, have proved effective by permitting a substantial reduction of the material costs, but also playing a role as reinforcement in mechanical properties. This study is focused on the evaluation of morphological, mechanical, thermal, barrier properties and degradation in composting environment of new bio-composites based on PCL and almond skin (AS) filler at different contents (0, 10, 20 and 30 wt%). Results showed a clear improvement in mechanical properties, corresponding to a gain in elastic modulus of 17% at 10 wt% particle loading. Lower melting and crystallization enthalpies and higher crystallinity values were obtained for bio-composites compared with neat PCL. Some decrease in thermal stability and increase in oxygen and water vapour barrier properties were also observed for composites with increasing filler content. PCL/AS composites showed higher biodegradability than pure PCL, which can be explained in terms of the depressed crystallization enthalpy of the polymer matrix and improved hydrophilicity. PCL-based composites reinforced with almond skin filler at 10 wt% loading have shown as promising environmentally-friendly materials for food packaging showing a high disintegration rate, increasing the added-value potential of agricultural wastes and reducing the packaging cost.Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MAT-2011-28468-C02-01). Arantzazu Valdés acknowledges Conselleria de Educación (Spain) for ACIF/2010/172 Predoctoral Research Training Grant

Does magnesium compromise the high temperature processability of novel biodegradable and bioresorbables PLLA/Mg composites?

This paper addresses the influence of magnesium on melting behaviour and thermal stability of novel bioresorbable PLLA/Mg composites as a way to investigate their processability by conventional techniques, which likely will require a melt process at high temperature to mould the material by using a compression, extrusion or injection stage. For this purpose, and to avoid any high temperature step before analysis, films of PLLA loaded with magnesium particles of different sizes and volume fraction were prepared by solvent casting. DSC, modulated DSC and thermogravimetry analysis demonstrate that although thermal stability of PLLA is reduced, the temperature window for processing the PLLA/Mg composites by conventional thermoplastic routes is wide enough. Moreover, magnesium particles do not alter the crystallization behaviour of the polymer from the melt, which allows further annealing treatments to optimize the crystallinity in terms of the required combination of mechanical properties and degradation rate.Peer Reviewe

Creep behavior of poly(lactic acid) based biocomposites

Polymer composites containing natural fibers are receiving growing attention as possible alternatives for composites containing synthetic fibers. The use of biodegradable matrices obtained from renewable sources in replacement for synthetic ones is also increasing. However, only limited information is available about the creep behavior of the obtained composites. In this work, the tensile creep behavior of PLA based composites, containing flax and jute twill weave woven fabrics, produced through compression molding, was investigated. Tensile creep tests were performed at different temperatures (i.e., 40 and 60 \ub0C). The results showed that the creep behavior of the composites is strongly influenced by the temperature and the woven fabrics used. As preliminary characterization, quasi-static tensile tests and dynamic mechanical tests were carried out on the composites. Furthermore, fabrics (both flax and jute) were tested as received by means of quasi-static tests and creep tests to evaluate the influence of fabrics mechanical behavior on the mechanical response of the resulting composites. The morphological analysis of the fracture surface of the tensile samples showed the better fiber-matrix adhesion between PLA and jute fabric

The potential of graphene nanoplatelets in the development of smart and multifunctional ecocomposites

Graphene and its derivatives have shown outstanding potential in many fields and textile/composites industry are not an exception. Giving their extraordinary properties, Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs) are excellent candidates for providing new functionalities to fibers and composites. In this work, natural fabrics (flax) were functionalized with chitosan (CS) based polymeric formulations of GNPs to develop fibrous systems with electrical properties as well as other functionalities. One of the greatest disadvantages of using carbon-based materials for fabrics’ impregnation is their difficult dispersion. Therefore, several polymers were used as matrices, binding and dispersive agents including chitosan, polyethylene glycol (PEG), and glycerol. All the systems were characterized using several techniques that demonstrated the presence and incorporation of the GNPs onto the composites. Besides their characterization, considering their use as smart materials for monitoring and sensing applications, electrical properties were also evaluated. The highest value obtained for electrical conductivity was 0.04 S m−1 using 2% of GNPs. Furthermore, piezoresistive behavior was observed with Gauge Factor (GF) of 1.89 using 0.5% GNPs. Additionally, UV (ultraviolet) protection ability and hydrophobicity were analyzed, confirming the multifunctional behavior of the developed systems extending their potential of application in several areas.(CEECIND/02803/2017