Mechanical and thermal flow properties of wood flour–biodegradable polymer composites

Abstract

Wood flour (WF)-polycaprolactone (PCL) and polybutylenesuccinate-butylenecarbonate (PBSC) composites were prepared by knead processing. The effects of a compatibilizer on the tensile and thermal flow properties of the composites were investigated. PCL-graft-maleic anhydride (PCL-g-MA) was used as a compatibilizer. Tensile properties were improved by adding PCL-g-MA to both composites. The tensile strength and Young's modulus were increased from 13 to 27 MPa and 581 to 1011 MPa in WF-PCL (50/50, w/w) composites, respectively, and from 17 to 28 MPa and 814 to 1007 Mpa in WF-PBSC (50/50, w/w) composites, respectively, with the addition of 5% PCL-g-MA. Elongation at break increased from 4 to 7% and from 3 to 6% in the WF-PCL and the WF-PBSC composites, respectively. Tensile strength was further increased with increasing WF content in the presence of PCL-g-MA. Thermal flow temperature and melt viscosity of the composites were increased, and water absorption and thickness swelling were improved with the addition of PCL-g-MA. It was found from the burial test that all composites were more than 40% degraded within 6 weeks, and there was no considerable difference in degradation between composites with PCLg-MA and those without.

Effect of wood filler treatment and EBAGMA compatibilizer on morphology and mechanical properties of low density polyethylene/olive husk flour composites

“…Interest in the development of new composite materials derived from wood filler and thermoplastic polymer matrices has grown markedly in the last years because there are environmental and economical advantages to producing wood flour thermoplastic composites [1,2]. Indeed, the composites so produced show some priorities over conventional composites such as lower density, biodegradability, lower abrasion, multifunctionality, lower cost and accessibility as renewable raw materials [3,4].…”

Effect of Environmental Conditions on the Mechanical Properties and Fungal Degradation of Polycaprolactone/ Microcrystalline Cellulose/Wood Flour Composites

“…Biodegradable plastics have received growing attention in the last couple of decades because of increasing concern over plastic waste (Chandra and Rustgi 1998;Lee and Ohkita 2003;di Franco et al 2004;Mathew et al 2005;Zhao et al 2008). Extensive research and product development has been done to reinforce polyolefins and other nonbiodegradable plastics, but research on reinforcing biodegradable polymers is limited.…”

“…Research has also shown that natural fibers, as well as other biobased materials, can be combined with biodegradable materials to make composites with enhanced properties and lower material costs (Averous et al 2000;Nitz et al 2001;Lee and Ohkita 2003;di Franco et al 2004;Mathew et al 2005;Zhao et al 2008). Some of the biodegradable materials added to PCL include starch (di Franco et al 2004;Averous et al 2000;Matzinos et al 2002), rice husk (Zhao et al 2008), cellulose derivatives (Rosa et al 2007), lignin (Nitz et al 2001), wood flour (Nitz et al 2001;Lee and Ohkita 2003), and nanocellulose (Habibi et al 2008;Siqueira et al 2009).…”

Preparation and Characterization of Raw and Chemically Modified Sponge-Gourd Fiber Reinforced Polylactic Acid Biocomposites

“…In recent years, the development of biocomposites from biodegradable polymers and natural fibers have attracted great interests in the composite science, because they could allow complete degradation in soil or by composting process and do not emit any toxic or noxious components [1]- [6].…”