A Study on Biocomposites from Recycled Newspaper Fiber and Poly(lactic acid)

Abstract

Recycled newspaper cellulose fiber (RNCF) reinforced poly(lactic acid) (PLA) biocomposites were fabricated by a microcompounding and molding system. RNCF-reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites were also processed with a recycled newspaper fiber content of 30 wt % and were compared to PLA/RNCF composites. The mechanical and thermal-mechanical properties of these composites have been studied and compared to PLA/talc and PP/talc composites. These composites possess similar mechanical properties to talc-filled composites as a result of reinforcement by RNCF. The tensile and flexural modulus of the biocomposites was significantly higher when compared with the virgin resin. The tensile modulus (6.3 GPa) of the PLA/RNCF composite (30 wt % fiber content) was comparable to that of traditional (i.e. polypropylene/talc) composites. The DMA storage modulus and the loss modulus of the RNCF-PLA composites were found to increase, whereas the mechanical loss factor (tan δ) was found to decrease. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermograms of neat PLA and of the composites exhibit nearly the same glass transition temperatures and melting temperatures. The morphology evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated good dispersion of RNCF in the PLA matrix. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) thermograms reveal the thermal stability of the biocomposites to nearly 350 °C. These findings illustrate that RNCF possesses good thermal properties, compares favorably with talc filler in mechanical properties, and could be a good alternative reinforcement fiber for biopolymer composites.

Polylactic Acid/Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber Biocomposite:Influence of Alkaline and Silane Treatment on the Mechanical Properties

“…The increasing in flexural modulus value after treatment suggests an efficient stress transfer between between the fiber and the matrix after treatment the fiber. Another reason is good dispersion or mixing between the fiber and the matrix [9].…”

“…Reinforcement can be achieved byusing natural fibersin order to improve mechanical and thermal properties of PLA [9]. Natural fibers have reinforcing efficiency which is related to the nature of their cellulose andcrystallinity.They are also biodegradable, renewable, harmless to humans, less abrasive to processing equipments and have comparable mechanical properties with inorganic fibers [10].…”

Estudo das propriedades mecânicas e térmicas do polímero Poli-3-hidroxibutirato (PHB) e de compósitos PHB/pó de madeira

“…Nesse sentido, vários trabalhos foram realizados na área de compósitos poliméricos com reforços lignocelulósicos: incorporação de diferentes teores de pó de madeira com e sem tratamento superficial [1] e a adição de fibras de bananeira [3] em PVC; incorporação de bagaço de cana com e sem tratamento prévio, celulose de bagaço de cana [4] , fibra de celulose de jornal reciclado [5] e fibra de coco [6,7] em PP; incorporação de fibra de piaçava, tratada e não-tratada [8] , resíduos de fibras têxteis com agentes compatibilizantes [9] e partículas de madeira de eucalipto, tratadas e não tratadas [10] , em PE.…”

Biodegradation evaluation of bacterial cellulose, vegetable cellulose and poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) in soil

“…Among these materials, considered biodegradable, are bacterial cellulose (BC) and poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) that were constituted by renewable sources [3][4][5][6][7][8] .…”