Development of Fibres-Reinforced Biodegradable Composites

In this work, blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), the most widespread member of the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), with wood fibres were investigated to assess the feasibility of producing biodegradable materials suitable for applications in packaging and agricultural environment. Due to its hig...

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Main Authors: M. Seggiani, P. Cinelli, S. Verstichel, M. Puccini, S. Vitolo, I. Anguillesi, A. Lazzeri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. 2015-05-01
Series:Chemical Engineering Transactions
Online Access:https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/5070
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author M. Seggiani
P. Cinelli
S. Verstichel
M. Puccini
S. Vitolo
I. Anguillesi
A. Lazzeri
author_facet M. Seggiani
P. Cinelli
S. Verstichel
M. Puccini
S. Vitolo
I. Anguillesi
A. Lazzeri
author_sort M. Seggiani
collection DOAJ
description In this work, blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), the most widespread member of the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), with wood fibres were investigated to assess the feasibility of producing biodegradable materials suitable for applications in packaging and agricultural environment. Due to its high crystallinity, PHB is stiff and brittle resulting in very poor mechanical properties with low extension at break, which limits its range of application. PHB was compounded successfully with wood fibres up to 30 % by weight in presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) by extrusion. The composites were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Their mechanical properties were tested by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and tensile tests. Preliminary tests in soil were carried out on the samples with wood fibres in order to investigate their biodegradation behavior, and further tests were performed in compost. Polyethylene glycol resulted effective as lubricating agent for the production of composites based on PHB and fibres. The good preliminary biodegradability results in soil showed that the blends PHB/wood fibres appear suitable for the production of natural fibre-reinforced thermoplastic items degradable in agricultural environment.
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spelling doaj.art-e2ac847339cd4ba1b6ae0c70bf2ec3672022-12-21T19:03:48ZengAIDIC Servizi S.r.l.Chemical Engineering Transactions2283-92162015-05-014310.3303/CET1543303Development of Fibres-Reinforced Biodegradable CompositesM. SeggianiP. CinelliS. VerstichelM. PucciniS. VitoloI. AnguillesiA. LazzeriIn this work, blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), the most widespread member of the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), with wood fibres were investigated to assess the feasibility of producing biodegradable materials suitable for applications in packaging and agricultural environment. Due to its high crystallinity, PHB is stiff and brittle resulting in very poor mechanical properties with low extension at break, which limits its range of application. PHB was compounded successfully with wood fibres up to 30 % by weight in presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) by extrusion. The composites were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Their mechanical properties were tested by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and tensile tests. Preliminary tests in soil were carried out on the samples with wood fibres in order to investigate their biodegradation behavior, and further tests were performed in compost. Polyethylene glycol resulted effective as lubricating agent for the production of composites based on PHB and fibres. The good preliminary biodegradability results in soil showed that the blends PHB/wood fibres appear suitable for the production of natural fibre-reinforced thermoplastic items degradable in agricultural environment.https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/5070
spellingShingle M. Seggiani
P. Cinelli
S. Verstichel
M. Puccini
S. Vitolo
I. Anguillesi
A. Lazzeri
Development of Fibres-Reinforced Biodegradable Composites
Chemical Engineering Transactions
title Development of Fibres-Reinforced Biodegradable Composites
title_full Development of Fibres-Reinforced Biodegradable Composites
title_fullStr Development of Fibres-Reinforced Biodegradable Composites
title_full_unstemmed Development of Fibres-Reinforced Biodegradable Composites
title_short Development of Fibres-Reinforced Biodegradable Composites
title_sort development of fibres reinforced biodegradable composites
url https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/5070
work_keys_str_mv AT mseggiani developmentoffibresreinforcedbiodegradablecomposites
AT pcinelli developmentoffibresreinforcedbiodegradablecomposites
AT sverstichel developmentoffibresreinforcedbiodegradablecomposites
AT mpuccini developmentoffibresreinforcedbiodegradablecomposites
AT svitolo developmentoffibresreinforcedbiodegradablecomposites
AT ianguillesi developmentoffibresreinforcedbiodegradablecomposites
AT alazzeri developmentoffibresreinforcedbiodegradablecomposites