Production of biodegradable composite material from PLA [polylactic acid] and finely-milled bagasse
2008
Jun, L.(Tsukuba Univ., Ibaraki (Japan)) | Intabon, K. | Ishikawa, Y. | Kitamura, Y. | Hasimoto, H. | Satake, T.
The mixing of poly lactic acid (PLA), an important biodegradable plastic with other materials is promising to develop new biodegradable composites. In this experiment, PLA was mixed to fine powder of sugarcane bagasse to produce a new kind of PLA-bagasse specimens. The effects of PLA addition on the mechanical characteristic, thermal resistance, biodegradability under soil conditions, and crystallization degree of PLA fraction were investigated. Economically, cost-down of the new specimens was also considered. The addition of bagasse enhanced the flexural modulus and flexural strength. The distortion temperature under load (DTUL) of the specimens was also increased to the outstripped level of ABS in plastic. The addition of bagasse also increased the crystallization degree on the specimens. Now, in regard to the biological degradability, the mass loss rate of the PLA-bagasse composite was higher than that of PLA in 30 days of incubation. It is expected that the addition of bagasse into other bio-materials to develop new biodegradable composites might lead to economically use of higher price PLA.
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