Development of biodegradable PLA composites and tangerine peel flour with improved toughness containing a natural-based terpenoid

The present work reports on the development of environmentally friendly, completely biodegradable wood plastic composites based on polylactide (PLA) and tangerine peel flour (TPF), plasticized by α-terpinyl acetate (TA). The TPF varied in the 10–30 wt% while the PLA to TA (wt%/wt%) was set to 4 (i.e...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jaume Gomez-Caturla, Nestor Montanes, Luis Quiles-Carrillo, Rafael Balart, Daniel Garcia-Garcia, Franco Dominici, Debora Puglia, Luigi Torre
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Budapest University of Technology 2023-08-01
Series:eXPRESS Polymer Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.expresspolymlett.com/letolt.php?file=EPL-0012513&mi=cd
_version_ 1827935264936296448
author Jaume Gomez-Caturla
Nestor Montanes
Luis Quiles-Carrillo
Rafael Balart
Daniel Garcia-Garcia
Franco Dominici
Debora Puglia
Luigi Torre
author_facet Jaume Gomez-Caturla
Nestor Montanes
Luis Quiles-Carrillo
Rafael Balart
Daniel Garcia-Garcia
Franco Dominici
Debora Puglia
Luigi Torre
author_sort Jaume Gomez-Caturla
collection DOAJ
description The present work reports on the development of environmentally friendly, completely biodegradable wood plastic composites based on polylactide (PLA) and tangerine peel flour (TPF), plasticized by α-terpinyl acetate (TA). The TPF varied in the 10–30 wt% while the PLA to TA (wt%/wt%) was set to 4 (i.e., 25 wt% TA plasticizer was added with regard to the PLA wt%). The developed composites were processed by extrusion and injection molding. The composites presented excellent elongation at break, achieving values of 300% for the PLA+TA sample. Elongation at break values of 200% for the PLA composite with 10 wt% TPF and plasticized with TA were obtained. Those results were confirmed by the appearance of filament-like structures observed in field emission scanning electron microscopy images. Differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis revealed a remarkable decrease in the glass transition temperature of PLA as a result of the plasticizing effect of TA. Glass transition was reduced from 63°C down to 41°C approximately. This implied an increase in the ductility of the material. The samples with TPF exhibited a dark brown color, making them perfect for wood plastic composite applications. Water contact angle results show that TA and TPF change the wetting properties of the obtained composites. A general decrease in the water contact angle was observed with the addition of TPF and TA. Finally, disintegration tests proved that the developed composites are fully biodegradable. All the samples except for neat PLA achieved 100% disintegration in controlled compost soil conditions after 5 weeks, while neat PLA reached complete disintegration in 6 weeks.
first_indexed 2024-03-13T07:51:38Z
format Article
id doaj.art-0042be126ee74593b99708e8b37d1612
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1788-618X
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-13T07:51:38Z
publishDate 2023-08-01
publisher Budapest University of Technology
record_format Article
series eXPRESS Polymer Letters
spelling doaj.art-0042be126ee74593b99708e8b37d16122023-06-02T13:48:54ZengBudapest University of TechnologyeXPRESS Polymer Letters1788-618X2023-08-0117878980510.3144/expresspolymlett.2023.59Development of biodegradable PLA composites and tangerine peel flour with improved toughness containing a natural-based terpenoidJaume Gomez-CaturlaNestor MontanesLuis Quiles-CarrilloRafael BalartDaniel Garcia-GarciaFranco DominiciDebora PugliaLuigi TorreThe present work reports on the development of environmentally friendly, completely biodegradable wood plastic composites based on polylactide (PLA) and tangerine peel flour (TPF), plasticized by α-terpinyl acetate (TA). The TPF varied in the 10–30 wt% while the PLA to TA (wt%/wt%) was set to 4 (i.e., 25 wt% TA plasticizer was added with regard to the PLA wt%). The developed composites were processed by extrusion and injection molding. The composites presented excellent elongation at break, achieving values of 300% for the PLA+TA sample. Elongation at break values of 200% for the PLA composite with 10 wt% TPF and plasticized with TA were obtained. Those results were confirmed by the appearance of filament-like structures observed in field emission scanning electron microscopy images. Differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis revealed a remarkable decrease in the glass transition temperature of PLA as a result of the plasticizing effect of TA. Glass transition was reduced from 63°C down to 41°C approximately. This implied an increase in the ductility of the material. The samples with TPF exhibited a dark brown color, making them perfect for wood plastic composite applications. Water contact angle results show that TA and TPF change the wetting properties of the obtained composites. A general decrease in the water contact angle was observed with the addition of TPF and TA. Finally, disintegration tests proved that the developed composites are fully biodegradable. All the samples except for neat PLA achieved 100% disintegration in controlled compost soil conditions after 5 weeks, while neat PLA reached complete disintegration in 6 weeks.http://www.expresspolymlett.com/letolt.php?file=EPL-0012513&mi=cdpolymer compositesbiodegradable polymersmechanical propertiestangerine peel flourplasticizer
spellingShingle Jaume Gomez-Caturla
Nestor Montanes
Luis Quiles-Carrillo
Rafael Balart
Daniel Garcia-Garcia
Franco Dominici
Debora Puglia
Luigi Torre
Development of biodegradable PLA composites and tangerine peel flour with improved toughness containing a natural-based terpenoid
eXPRESS Polymer Letters
polymer composites
biodegradable polymers
mechanical properties
tangerine peel flour
plasticizer
title Development of biodegradable PLA composites and tangerine peel flour with improved toughness containing a natural-based terpenoid
title_full Development of biodegradable PLA composites and tangerine peel flour with improved toughness containing a natural-based terpenoid
title_fullStr Development of biodegradable PLA composites and tangerine peel flour with improved toughness containing a natural-based terpenoid
title_full_unstemmed Development of biodegradable PLA composites and tangerine peel flour with improved toughness containing a natural-based terpenoid
title_short Development of biodegradable PLA composites and tangerine peel flour with improved toughness containing a natural-based terpenoid
title_sort development of biodegradable pla composites and tangerine peel flour with improved toughness containing a natural based terpenoid
topic polymer composites
biodegradable polymers
mechanical properties
tangerine peel flour
plasticizer
url http://www.expresspolymlett.com/letolt.php?file=EPL-0012513&mi=cd
work_keys_str_mv AT jaumegomezcaturla developmentofbiodegradableplacompositesandtangerinepeelflourwithimprovedtoughnesscontaininganaturalbasedterpenoid
AT nestormontanes developmentofbiodegradableplacompositesandtangerinepeelflourwithimprovedtoughnesscontaininganaturalbasedterpenoid
AT luisquilescarrillo developmentofbiodegradableplacompositesandtangerinepeelflourwithimprovedtoughnesscontaininganaturalbasedterpenoid
AT rafaelbalart developmentofbiodegradableplacompositesandtangerinepeelflourwithimprovedtoughnesscontaininganaturalbasedterpenoid
AT danielgarciagarcia developmentofbiodegradableplacompositesandtangerinepeelflourwithimprovedtoughnesscontaininganaturalbasedterpenoid
AT francodominici developmentofbiodegradableplacompositesandtangerinepeelflourwithimprovedtoughnesscontaininganaturalbasedterpenoid
AT deborapuglia developmentofbiodegradableplacompositesandtangerinepeelflourwithimprovedtoughnesscontaininganaturalbasedterpenoid
AT luigitorre developmentofbiodegradableplacompositesandtangerinepeelflourwithimprovedtoughnesscontaininganaturalbasedterpenoid