The aim of this work was to better understand the performance of binary blends of biodegradable aliphatic polyesters to overcome some limitations of the pure polymers (e.g., brittleness, low stiffness, and low toughness). Binary blends of poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were prepared by melt blending (in a twin-screw extruder) followed by injection molding. The compositions ranged from pure biodegradable polymers to 25 wt % increments. Morphological characterization was performed with scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The initial modulus, stress and strain at yield, strain at break, and impact toughness of the biodegradable polymer blends were investigated. The properties were described by models assuming different interfacial behaviors (e.g., good adhesion and no adhesion between the dissimilar materials).The results indicated that PCL behaved as a polymeric plasticizer to PLA and improved the flexibility and ductility of the blends, giving the blends higher impact toughness. The strain at break was effectively improved by the addition of PCL to PLA, and this was followed by a decrease in the stress at break. The two biodegradable polymers were proved to be immiscible but nevertheless showed some degree of adhesion between the two phases. This was also quantified by the mechanical property prediction models, which, in conjunction with material property characterization, allowed unambiguous detection of the interfacial behavior of the polymer blends.

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Analysis on 3RWB model (Reduce, reuse, recycle, and waste bank) in comprehensive waste management toward community-based zero waste AIP Conference Proceedings 1855, 040011 (2017) Abstract. In recent years, rising worldwide plastic consumption led to the generation of increasing amounts of plastic waste and to the awareness of the importance of its management. In that framework, the present work describes how Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and economic assessment methodologies can be used for evaluating environmental and economic impacts of alternative plastic waste management systems. The literature on LCA of plastic waste management systems is vast and the results reported are generally consistent, showing that recycling has the lowest environmental impact on Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Total Energy Use (TEU) impacts. On the other hand, the literature addressing the economic assessment of plastic waste, namely the various End-of-Life (EoL) treatments, is rather limited.Other methodologies, such as integration of LCA and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) of plastic products, are almost never addressed. In any case, the overarching conclusion is that plastic materials usually have environmental and economic advantages over conventional materials throughout their Life Cycle, with or without consideration of the EoL stage.

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