Effect of surface treatments of banana fiber on mechanical, thermal, and biodegradability properties of PLA/banana fiber biocomposites

Abstract

Poly lactic acid (PLA)/Banana fiber (BF) biocomposites were fabricated employing melt blending technique followed by compression molding. BF were surface‐treated by NaOH and various silanes viz. 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) and bis‐(3‐triethoxy silyl propyl) tetrasulfane (Si69) to improve the compatibility of the fibers within the matrix polymer. Mechanical tests revealed an increase of tensile strength to the tune 136% and impact strength to 49% as compared with the untreated biocomposite. Thermal properties of the composites have been evaluated using DSC and TGA. DSC thermograms revealed an increase in the melting transitions thus revealing effective fiber/matrix interface. The thermal stability in the biocomposites also increased in case of banana fiber treated with Si69. Viscoelastic measurements using DMA confirmed an increase of storage modulus and low damping values in the silane treated biocomposites. Biodegradation studies in the biocomposites have been investigated in B. cepacia medium through morphological and weight loss studies. POLYM. COMPOS., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers

Mechanical, Thermal, and Morphological Properties of Sawdust/Poly(lactic acid) Composites: Effects of Alkali Treatment and Poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) Content

“…[26] Moreover, the enhancement in thermal stability of PLA/AT composite was probably due to the improvement in interfacial adhesion between the PLA matrix and the sawdust. [25,27] With the addition of PBAT into the PLA/ AT composites, all of the composites displayed two stages of the decomposition process with the first decomposition temperature (T d,1 ) of sawdust and PLA at about 370 C and the second decomposition temperature of PBAT (T d,2 ) at about 413 C. T 5 , T 50 , and T d,1 of the PLA composites toughened with PBAT were higher than that of the PLA composites without PBAT. This was because PBAT had higher thermal decomposition temperature than PLA as shown in Table 1.…”

“…This led to a deterioration in thermal stability of the composites. [25] In addition, poor interfacial adhesion between the PLA matrix and the sawdust might contribute to a decrease in thermal decomposition temperature of PLA. [23] However, PLA/AT composite exhibited higher T 5 , T 50 , and T d than the PLA/UT composite.…”

Comparative study between poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) - EVA expanded composites filled with banana fiber and wood flour

“…The increase in the amount of fibers and filler also influences the viscosity of the expanded composites, being directly related to the expansion process and the mechanical properties of the expanded composite 3,6 , as will be shown later in the Melt Flow Index topic. Figure 3 shows the cell size frequency distribution according to the fiber content in the expanded composites, which reveals the tendency of the formation of smaller cells with increasing WF content in the expanded composite.…”

“…Banana fibers (BF) are abundant in tropical countries, being extracted from the pseudostem of the banana plant, which is usually cut and discarded after the fruit is harvested. BF originates from the residue of the cultivation of bananas, and if not properly treated, this banana plantation waste may enable the proliferation of fungi due to its high moisture content and the considerable time required for its degradation 3,4 . Polymeric composites are materials consisting of two or more phases; usually, the polymer is the continuous phase (matrix) and the fiber is the reinforcing one 5 .…”

Differences of Alkali and Thermal Treatment on Cotton Residues Applicable to Green Composites

“…This results in a low work of adhesion. The natural fiber surfaces are impregnated with apolar oils and have high entanglement, which can explain their higher hydrophobicity and high hysteresis [28,29].…”