This article is focused on studying the effect of the reprocessing cycles on the mechanical, thermal, and aesthetic properties of a biocomposite. This process is based on starch thermoplastic polymer (TPS) filled with 20 wt% almond shell powder (ASP) and epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) as a compatibilizing additive. To do so, the biocomposite was prepared in a twin-screw extruder, molded by injection, and characterized in terms of its mechanical, thermal, and visual properties (according to CieLab) and the melt flow index (MFI). The analyses carried out were tensile, flexural, Charpy impact tests, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effects of the reprocessing were also studied for the biodegradable unfilled TPS polymer. The results showed that TPS and TPS/ASP biocomposite suffer changes progressively on the properties studied after each reprocessing cycle. Furthermore, it was observed that the addition of ASP intensified these effects regarding TPS. However, in spite of the progressive degradation in both cases, it is technically feasible to reprocess the material at least three times without needing to incorporate virgin material.
In this study, binary blends of biodegradable polymers were prepared to improve the ductile properties of those that have a more rigid and/or brittle. Specifically, PLA, PHA and TPS were blended with different amounts of PBS with the objective of reducing the stiffness and brittleness of the three polymers. The compatibility of the blends and their resulting mechanical properties were studied. The flexibility of the blends increased with the addition of PBS; however, a limited compatibility was achieved, leading to a low impact resistance improvement. For this reason, other blend options with an EVA-based material were studied, increasing the impact resistance and flexibility of the PLA material in this case.
This paper shows the results of the mechanical characterisation of a series of new sustainable polymeric formulations filled with almond shell and cellulosic fibres for its use in rotomoulding process. Up to ten formulations of polyethylene and polycaprolactone, were developed with a content from 10 to 40 wt% of natural filler. The addition of these fillers decreased the mechanical properties, mainly when the formulation was carried out by physical mixing. However, good interfacial interaction between the polymer and filler was produced in the compounding process, obtaining final formulations appropriated for rotomoulding.
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