Bio-Based Polymeric Composites Comprising Wood Flour as Filler

Abstract

The increasing effort on development of bio-based polymeric materials in recent years is motivated by the basic concept of meeting the sustainability criteria for industrial development in the third millennium. Within this framework, our research group is currently involved in assessing the potentiality of some agro-industrial overproduction and byproducts in the formulation of eco-compatible bio-based polymeric materials displaying, among others, the propensity to biodegrade under controlled environment conditions. In the present work, beech wood flour (Bwf) composites were prepared from plasticized poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). The type of plasticizer [tri(ethylene glycol) bis(2-ethylhexanoate) (TEGB) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG200)] and the amount [5 and 20 wt %] were selected as independent variables in a factorial design. Thermal and mechanical properties of 90 wt % PHB composites were investigated. Incorporation of PEG200 was found to compromise thermal stability of PHB as demonstrated by the higher decrease on the onset decomposition temperature (T(d)) and the drop in its average molecular weight (M(w)). The present study underlines the fact that TEGB/PHB/beech wood flour composites can be optimized to obtain new materials for disposable items.

Biodegradable composition of poly(lactic acid) from renewable wood flour

“…using polyolefins, such as polypropylene and polyeth ylene [11].WF has also been reported to be used as bio degradable polymers (Reinsch et al [12], Fernandes et al [13], Wu [14], Shah et al [15], Sykacek et al [16], Gregorova et al [17][18][19], Hrabalova et al [20]). Some other reports discussed WF as a filler for PLA [21][22][23][24][25].…”

Enhancement of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) thermal and processing stability using a bio-waste derived additive

“…synthesis of copolyesters containing different PHAs units other than PHB, by using different bacterial strains or chemical synthesis routes [11,12]. Furthermore, blending of PHB with high or low molecular weight components, such as suitable organic and inorganic additives, represents another approach to provide both an upgrading of processing and manufacturing performance, and a relative inexpensive strategy to enhance polymer physical properties [13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

Surface modification of spruce wood flour and effects on the dynamic fragility of PLA/wood composites

“…The use of renewable and biodegradable fillers such as starch, cellulose, kenaf, hemp, and wood fibers has been investigated intensively during the past years [2–8]. Especially wood flour (WF) has been used as a cost effective filler mainly for polyolefins but also for biodegradable polymers such as PLA or poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) [9–13]. The main advantages of WF are the abundant availability, its renewability, the low price, the low abrasiveness, and its low density.…”