The Properties of Tannery Waste Addition as a Filler Based on Two Types of Polymer Matrices: Poly(Butylene Adipate-Co-Terephthalate) (PBAT) and Poly(Butylene Succinate) (PBS)

Abstract

Wet blue leather is a waste produced by the leather industry. It is a difficult waste product to dispose of, and if not disposed of properly, it will affect the environment and cause toxicity. Therefore, recycling was considered as an alternative to waste disposal. In this study, polymer composites were prepared from two types of polymers, poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), and wet blue leather (WBL). A twin screw extruder and injection molding were used to prepare the composites. The effect of polymer type and WBL content (5, 10, and 15 wt%) on mechanical properties, thermal properties, flammability, MFI, water absorption, and morphology was investigated. All the polymer composites showed an increase in tensile and flexural strength, Young’s modulus, and water absorption but decreased in elongation at break, impact strength, and flammability compared to neat polymers.

Effects of Wood Content and Modification on Properties of Wood Flour/Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate Biocomposites

“…From Figure 3a, the tensile strength of neat PBAT was 6.00 MPa, which fell into the range of the results obtained by Zhai et al [35] and Mtibe et al [36], and the flexural strength was 3.14 MPa, which was quite close to the 3.40 MPa value reported by Raksaksri et al [37]. After complexing with WF, both the tensile and flexural strengths increased gradually with the content of WF, and the tensile and flexural strengths of the 50% WF/PBAT biocomposite were increased to 10.20 MPa by 70% and 15.72 MPa by 461.43% compared to those of the unfilled PBAT, respectively.…”