Polylactide as a Substitute for Conventional Polymers—Biopolymer Processing under Varying Extrusion Conditions
The polymer processing industry is paying more attention to biodegradable materials synthesized from renewable sources. One of the most popular of them is polylactide (PLA). Except the material from which a given product is made, particularly important is the process of manufacturing a polymer mater...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Environments |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/9/5/57 |
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| author | Daria Kosmalska Katarzyna Janczak Aneta Raszkowska-Kaczor Andrzej Stasiek Tomasz Ligor |
| author_facet | Daria Kosmalska Katarzyna Janczak Aneta Raszkowska-Kaczor Andrzej Stasiek Tomasz Ligor |
| author_sort | Daria Kosmalska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The polymer processing industry is paying more attention to biodegradable materials synthesized from renewable sources. One of the most popular of them is polylactide (PLA). Except the material from which a given product is made, particularly important is the process of manufacturing a polymer material, processing, use by the consumer, and finally, recycling it. Neither of these steps is indifferent to the environment. The processing of polymers can often lead to material degradation, which affects the properties of the material and leads to the generation of substantial amounts of post-production waste that cannot be reused by processors. The aim of this work is to evaluate selected properties of PLA subjected to the extrusion process under variable extrusion conditions. This is important due to the large losses of material and energy resulting from the extrusion of biodegradable polymers under poorly selected processing conditions, which, apart from the economic effects, has a negative impact on the environment. The research proved that both the temperature and the structure of the plasticizing system as well as the rotational speed of the screws affect the mechanical properties of the final product. For PLA optimization, this process will directly contribute to the improvement of the PLA processing process, and indirectly help to act for the benefit of the environment by reducing the consumption of energy, raw materials, and the amount of post-production waste. The obtained results allowed for the selection of appropriate parameters depending on the expectations regarding the properties of the final product. The conducted research will help to optimize processing processes and reduce the consumption of raw materials, which in the future will also affect the environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:55:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8cc94f784dd44bb099196f89b2549a6e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3298 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:55:18Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environments |
| spelling | doaj.art-8cc94f784dd44bb099196f89b2549a6e2023-11-23T10:56:36ZengMDPI AGEnvironments2076-32982022-05-01955710.3390/environments9050057Polylactide as a Substitute for Conventional Polymers—Biopolymer Processing under Varying Extrusion ConditionsDaria Kosmalska0Katarzyna Janczak1Aneta Raszkowska-Kaczor2Andrzej Stasiek3Tomasz Ligor4Lukasiewicz Research Network-Institute for Engineering of Polymer Materials and Dyes, 55 Skłodowskiej-Curie Street, 87-100 Torun, PolandLukasiewicz Research Network-Institute for Engineering of Polymer Materials and Dyes, 55 Skłodowskiej-Curie Street, 87-100 Torun, PolandLukasiewicz Research Network-Institute for Engineering of Polymer Materials and Dyes, 55 Skłodowskiej-Curie Street, 87-100 Torun, PolandLukasiewicz Research Network-Institute for Engineering of Polymer Materials and Dyes, 55 Skłodowskiej-Curie Street, 87-100 Torun, PolandFaculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 11 Gagarina Street, 87-100 Torun, PolandThe polymer processing industry is paying more attention to biodegradable materials synthesized from renewable sources. One of the most popular of them is polylactide (PLA). Except the material from which a given product is made, particularly important is the process of manufacturing a polymer material, processing, use by the consumer, and finally, recycling it. Neither of these steps is indifferent to the environment. The processing of polymers can often lead to material degradation, which affects the properties of the material and leads to the generation of substantial amounts of post-production waste that cannot be reused by processors. The aim of this work is to evaluate selected properties of PLA subjected to the extrusion process under variable extrusion conditions. This is important due to the large losses of material and energy resulting from the extrusion of biodegradable polymers under poorly selected processing conditions, which, apart from the economic effects, has a negative impact on the environment. The research proved that both the temperature and the structure of the plasticizing system as well as the rotational speed of the screws affect the mechanical properties of the final product. For PLA optimization, this process will directly contribute to the improvement of the PLA processing process, and indirectly help to act for the benefit of the environment by reducing the consumption of energy, raw materials, and the amount of post-production waste. The obtained results allowed for the selection of appropriate parameters depending on the expectations regarding the properties of the final product. The conducted research will help to optimize processing processes and reduce the consumption of raw materials, which in the future will also affect the environment.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/9/5/57degradationextrusiontemperaturerotation speedplasticizing systempolylactide (PLA) |
| spellingShingle | Daria Kosmalska Katarzyna Janczak Aneta Raszkowska-Kaczor Andrzej Stasiek Tomasz Ligor Polylactide as a Substitute for Conventional Polymers—Biopolymer Processing under Varying Extrusion Conditions Environments degradation extrusion temperature rotation speed plasticizing system polylactide (PLA) |
| title | Polylactide as a Substitute for Conventional Polymers—Biopolymer Processing under Varying Extrusion Conditions |
| title_full | Polylactide as a Substitute for Conventional Polymers—Biopolymer Processing under Varying Extrusion Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Polylactide as a Substitute for Conventional Polymers—Biopolymer Processing under Varying Extrusion Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Polylactide as a Substitute for Conventional Polymers—Biopolymer Processing under Varying Extrusion Conditions |
| title_short | Polylactide as a Substitute for Conventional Polymers—Biopolymer Processing under Varying Extrusion Conditions |
| title_sort | polylactide as a substitute for conventional polymers biopolymer processing under varying extrusion conditions |
| topic | degradation extrusion temperature rotation speed plasticizing system polylactide (PLA) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/9/5/57 |
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