Recycled Multi-Material Packaging Reinforced with Flax Fibres: Thermal and Mechanical Behaviour

Abstract

In this work, the use of a recycled mix stemming from the treatment of multilayer aseptic packaging used in the food and beverage industry is proposed as the matrix for short fibre composites reinforced with flax fibres, to generate value-added materials in contrast to the more common end-of-life scenario including energy recovery. This is expected to be a preferred choice in the waste hierarchy at the European level. A commercially available material (EcoAllene) obtained from multilayer packaging recycling was compounded with short flax fibres up to 30 wt.% by twin screw extrusion, with a view to enhancing its poor mechanical profile and broadening its applications. Composites were in depth analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry, which highlighted the complex nature of this recycled product, a limited nucleation ability of flax fibres and a lower thermal stability due to the premature degradation of natural hemicellulose and cellulose, though featuring in any case onset degradation temperatures higher than 300 °C. Composites’ mechanical properties were assessed in tension, bending and impact conditions, with remarkable improvements over the neat matrix in terms of stiffness and strength. In particular, at 30 wt.% fibre content and with 5 wt.% of maleated coupling agent, an increase in tensile and flexural strength values by 92% and 138% was achieved, respectively, without compromising the impact strength. The effectiveness of flax fibres confirmed by dynamo-mechanical analysis is beneficial to the exploitation of these composites in automotive interiors and outdoor decking applications.

Recent Advances in Natural Fibre-Based Materials for Food Packaging Applications

“…There are also small amounts of wax, oil and water. The incorporation of flax fibres increases strength and stiffness, which can be further improved by modification with a malleated coupling agent [ 76 ].…”

Recyclability Studies on Poly(lactic acid)/Poly(butylene succinate‐co‐adipate) (PLA/PBSA) Biobased and Biodegradable Films

“…Biobased and biodegradable bioplastics provide several possibilities for an improved end-of-life with respect to fossil counterparts, [1][2][3] because in many cases they can be mechanically or chemically recycled [4][5][6] and, when it will be no more possible, they can be composted (organically recycled) contributing to soil fertility. Hence, they offer a full recyclability.…”