Investigating the Effects of Tobacco Lignin on Polypropylene
The utilization of eco-friendly materials, such as lignin, for higher value product applications became increasingly important as environmental concerns due to global warming increased. Melt blending is one of the easy ways to increase the usage of lignin in commercial applications. However, the deg...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/4/706 |
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| author | Irfan Tahir John Rapinac Abdulaziz Abutunis Venkata Gireesh Menta |
| author_facet | Irfan Tahir John Rapinac Abdulaziz Abutunis Venkata Gireesh Menta |
| author_sort | Irfan Tahir |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The utilization of eco-friendly materials, such as lignin, for higher value product applications became increasingly important as environmental concerns due to global warming increased. Melt blending is one of the easy ways to increase the usage of lignin in commercial applications. However, the degradation of the final product performance and increase in the production time and costs are of major concern. In the current work, the effects of blending lignin, extracted from tobacco plants, with polypropylene (PP) on the injection molding parameters, physical, thermal and mechanical properties are investigated. Blends of lignin (5, 15 and 30% by wt.) with PP were prepared using a Filabot single screw extruder. Results show that tensile strength decreases by 3.2%, 9.9% and 5.4% at 5 wt. %, 15 wt. %, and 30 wt. % of lignin addition, respectively. The tensile stiffness was almost unaffected by the addition of up to 15% lignin, but a 23% increase was observed at 30 wt. % loading. When compared to lignin processed via expensive processes, such as acetylation, tobacco lignin showed superior performance. The DSC results show unaffected crystallization and melting temperatures but a decrease in enthalpies and percentage of crystallinity. The SEM and optical micrographs of the coupon cross-sections show that the extrusion process has achieved a uniform distribution of lignin particles in the PP. Thermogravimetric analysis results show that tobacco lignin accelerates the onset decomposition temperature but does not influence the decomposition peak temperature. The increase in lignin content did not have a significant influence on the injection molding parameters, implying no additional processing costs for adding lignin to the PP. Overall, the performance of the tobacco lignin is comparable, if not better, than that of processed lignin reported in the literature. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:12:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b8b4fbb8729b44129f9da927c3e23a39 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:12:23Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-b8b4fbb8729b44129f9da927c3e23a392023-11-23T21:44:31ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-02-0114470610.3390/polym14040706Investigating the Effects of Tobacco Lignin on PolypropyleneIrfan Tahir0John Rapinac1Abdulaziz Abutunis2Venkata Gireesh Menta3Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USAMechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USAMechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USAMechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USAThe utilization of eco-friendly materials, such as lignin, for higher value product applications became increasingly important as environmental concerns due to global warming increased. Melt blending is one of the easy ways to increase the usage of lignin in commercial applications. However, the degradation of the final product performance and increase in the production time and costs are of major concern. In the current work, the effects of blending lignin, extracted from tobacco plants, with polypropylene (PP) on the injection molding parameters, physical, thermal and mechanical properties are investigated. Blends of lignin (5, 15 and 30% by wt.) with PP were prepared using a Filabot single screw extruder. Results show that tensile strength decreases by 3.2%, 9.9% and 5.4% at 5 wt. %, 15 wt. %, and 30 wt. % of lignin addition, respectively. The tensile stiffness was almost unaffected by the addition of up to 15% lignin, but a 23% increase was observed at 30 wt. % loading. When compared to lignin processed via expensive processes, such as acetylation, tobacco lignin showed superior performance. The DSC results show unaffected crystallization and melting temperatures but a decrease in enthalpies and percentage of crystallinity. The SEM and optical micrographs of the coupon cross-sections show that the extrusion process has achieved a uniform distribution of lignin particles in the PP. Thermogravimetric analysis results show that tobacco lignin accelerates the onset decomposition temperature but does not influence the decomposition peak temperature. The increase in lignin content did not have a significant influence on the injection molding parameters, implying no additional processing costs for adding lignin to the PP. Overall, the performance of the tobacco lignin is comparable, if not better, than that of processed lignin reported in the literature.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/4/706ligninpolypropylenetobacco ligninblendscharacterizationbiopolymers |
| spellingShingle | Irfan Tahir John Rapinac Abdulaziz Abutunis Venkata Gireesh Menta Investigating the Effects of Tobacco Lignin on Polypropylene Polymers lignin polypropylene tobacco lignin blends characterization biopolymers |
| title | Investigating the Effects of Tobacco Lignin on Polypropylene |
| title_full | Investigating the Effects of Tobacco Lignin on Polypropylene |
| title_fullStr | Investigating the Effects of Tobacco Lignin on Polypropylene |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating the Effects of Tobacco Lignin on Polypropylene |
| title_short | Investigating the Effects of Tobacco Lignin on Polypropylene |
| title_sort | investigating the effects of tobacco lignin on polypropylene |
| topic | lignin polypropylene tobacco lignin blends characterization biopolymers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/4/706 |
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