Injection Molded Sustainable Biocomposites From Poly(butylene succinate) Bioplastic and Perennial Grass

Abstract

Biocomposites from poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and perennial grass (miscanthus fibers) were successfully prepared by extrusion and injection molding methods with different fiber loadings. The tensile strength of uncompatibilized PBS/miscanthus composites was much lower compared to that of neat PBS. Unlike tensile strength, the flexural and impact strengths were significantly enhanced after incorporation of miscanthus fibers into the PBS matrix. The enhanced flexural strength was attributed to the reinforcing effect of miscathus fibers. The fiber pull-out mechanism is likely responsible for the observed impact strength improvement. Addition of 5 wt % maleic anhydride (MAH) grafted PBS (MAH-g-PBS) into PBS composites showed a significant improvement in tensile and flexural strength compared to the corresponding uncompatibilized composites and neat matrix. For example, the PBS composites with 50 wt % miscanthus fiber and 5 wt % MAH-g-PBS resulted in 22, 139, and 47% improvements in tensile, flexural, and impact strength compared to neat PBS. These improvements were attributed to the enhanced interfacial interaction between the components, as confirmed by adhesion parameter values and by surface morphological analysis. The load-bearing capacity of the compatibilized and uncompatibilized PBS/miscanthus composites was analyzed using a mathematical model. Overall, this study provides an option for preparing a sustainable biocomposite with superior mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties.

Biodegradable biocomposites from poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) and miscanthus: Preparation, compatibilization, and performance evaluation

“…These properties are comparable with other agro fibers such as hemp and sisal . However, only few researchers have been investigated the performance of miscanthus fiber reinforced composites with biodegradable polymers . Johnson et al .…”

Biodegradable compatibilized polymer blends for packaging applications: A literature review

“…PBS has mechanical properties comparable to polyolefins like PE and PP . PBS has relatively good processability and can be processed via a broad range of conventional techniques (i.e., sheet extrusion, injection molding, thermoforming, blow molding, foaming, fiber spinning, and filament) for food packaging and dinnerware applications . PBSA is produced from succinic acid, 1,4‐butanediol, and adipic acid monomers by copolymerization.…”

Biocomposite consisting of miscanthus fiber and biodegradable binary blend matrix: compatibilization and performance evaluation

“…This reduction is commonly observed for most of the ber reinforced composites. 11,18 However, all the compatibilized composites exhibited slightly higher elongation at break compared to their corresponding uncompatibilized composites. This implies that the interfacial adhesion was improved between the phases.…”

“…Although, only a few studies have investigated the miscanthus ber reinforced biodegradable polymer composites. 4,8,9,17,18 In our previous study 18 we have used MAH graed PBS compatibilizer to improve the compatibility between PBS matrix and miscanthus ber. Due to the increased compatibility between the matrix and ber, it was found that the mechanical performances of the resulting composites were superior compared to the uncompatibilized counterparts.…”