Surface treated bagasse fiber ash on rheological, mechanical properties of PLA/BFA biocomposites

Abstract

The use of silica based bagasse fiber ash (BFA) as a reinforcing filler in polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites was examined. The effects of surface-treated BFA on the rheological, swelling behavior, and mechanical properties and water absorption of biocomposites were studied. BFA was treated using a silane coupling agent (Bis-[3-(triethoxysilyl)propy]-tetrasulfide). Composites with BFA were varied from 5 to 25wt.%. The PLA/BFA composite melts were pseudoplastic non-Newtonion fluid and exhibited a shear thinning behavior. The viscosity of the surface-treated BFA biocomposites was higher than that of the untreated. The viscosity of the composites decreased with increasing BFA content and shear rate. The extrudate swell of the composites increased with increasing shear rate, whereas it decreased with increasing BFA content and die temperature. The extrudate swell tended to be suppressed when surface-treated BFA was used. Silane treated BFA composites showed improvement in their mechanical properties, and exhibited significantly reduced water absorption.

PLA-Based Hybrid Biocomposites: Effects of Fiber Type, Fiber Content, and Annealing on Thermal and Mechanical Properties

“…Generally, neat PLA showed better tensile strength and elongation at break than those of the PLA composites. This finding is in agreement with those reported by others [36,37]. The neat PLA possessed the highest tensile strength and elongation at break of 51.85 MPa and 8.13%, respectively.…”

“…Similar results were reported by other researchers who suggested that these findings were associated with a low strength of adhesion among the fibers within composite materials. The decrease in tensile strength with the increasing fiber content may also be due to an agglomeration of fibers in the PLA matrix [36][37][38]. The poor adhesion among the composite components stemmed from the low hydrophilicity and polarity of PLA as compared with those of the plant fibers, which possess polar hydroxyl groups on their surfaces.…”

Compression molding of polypropylene‐ and polyethylene‐based composite materials using siliceous waste concrete powder

“…WCP‐S is an inorganic material owing to the raw material of waste concrete. Therefore, it is expected that the mechanical properties of both PP and PE resins can be improved by varying the interfacial adhesion between the matrix and WCP‐S using a silane coupling agent 34 or maleic anhydride treatment of the matrix resin 39 . The treatment of the interfacial adhesion between the matrix and WCP‐S will be our future work.…”

“…[25][26][27] The chemical composition of clay comprises SiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 . In addition, industrial waste or natural resources, such as fly ash, [28][29][30][31] bagasse ash, [32][33][34][35] rice husk ash, [36][37][38][39] palm oil ash, 40,41 and steel slag 42,43 have been used as fillers in polymer composites. The chemical compositions of these materials are similar to that of clay.…”