Carboxylation Modification of Fiber Reclaimed from Old Newspapers and its Effects on Properties of the Reinforced Polylactic Acids Composites

Abstract

In order to make full use of old newspapers and preserve precious plant resource, old newspapers were reclaimed and refined into fiber, then phthalic anhydride (PA) was utilized to modify the reclaimed-fiber on the condition of ultrasonic radiation. Subsequently, reclaimed-fiber was mixed with polylactic acids (PLA) to obtain composites by means of extrusion molding. At last, mechanical performances of the composite were tested. Results reveal that: composite made form PLA and the PA treated reclaimed-fiber from old newspapers has good mechanical performances, and its tensile strength is higher than 41.5MPa while impact strength is no less than 7.3KJ/m2. Moreover, the optimum processing conditions for modifying reclaimed-fiber with PA are: mass fraction of phthalic anhydride to old newspaper reclaimed fiber 5%, ultrasonic radiation time 15min, and modification temperature 90°C.

Graphene Oxide-Enhanced and Dynamically Crosslinked Bio-Elastomer for Poly(lactic acid) Modification

“…In accordance with the Chinese Standard GB/T1040.1-2006 [ 41 ], the mechanical properties of the PLA-GESO blends, including tensile strength and elongation at break, were tested using a universal testing machine (LR5K PLUS, from LLOYD Instruments,Hampshire, UK) with a maximum tensile force of 500 N. A tensile experiment was carried out at room temperature (25 ± 2 °C) with a tensile rate of 10 mm/min. Each sample was tested five times using specimens prepared in the same batch, and the average value was used as the result for analysis.…”

“…In accordance with the Chinese Standard GB/1043-2008 [ 41 ], the impact strength of the PLA/GESO blend specimens was measured using a 50 N simply supported beam impact tester (ZBC1251 from SANS, Shenzhen, China). Each sample was tested five times at an ambient temperature of 25 ± 2 °C, and the average value was used as the result for analysis.…”