Mousa Noran, Galiwango Emmanuel, Haris Sabeera, Al-Marzouqi Ali H, Abu-Jdayil Basim, Caires Yousuf L
Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates.
Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates.
Polymers (Basel). 2022 Jan 31;14(3):574. doi: 10.3390/polym14030574.
Petroleum-based plastic is widely used in almost all fields. However, it causes serious threats to the environment owing to its non-biodegradable properties, which necessitates finding biodegradable alternatives. Here, date palm rachis (DPR) waste was used as a filler (30, 40, and 50 wt%) to form a biodegradable composite with polylactic acid (PLA) and achieve cost-performance balance. DPR-PLA composites were prepared using a melt-mixing extruder at 180 °C by varying mixing time, DPR composition, and plasticizer type and composition. The biodegradable testing specimens were prepared by compression molding and analyzed using physical, thermal, and mechanical characterizations. Scanning electron microscopy images indicated a uniform dispersion of DPR (90 μm) in the PLA matrix. The esterification reaction resulting from this interaction between DPR and PLA was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The 30 wt% DPR-PLA composite was considered the optimal composite with the lowest melt flow index (16 g/10 min). This work confirmed the superior effect of addition of 10 wt% of triethyl citrate (TEC) compared with polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) by the improvement in the elongation at break of the optimal composite from 2.10% to 4.20%. Moreover, the addition of 10 wt% of PBAT to the optimal composite resulted in a lower tensile strength (21.80 MPa) than that of the composite with 10 wt% of TEC (33.20 MPa). These results show the potential of using the proposed composite as an alternative material for single-use plastics such as cutlery.
石油基塑料几乎在所有领域都有广泛应用。然而，由于其不可生物降解的特性，它对环境造成了严重威胁，这就需要寻找可生物降解的替代品。在此，椰枣叶柄（DPR）废料被用作填料（30%、40%和50%重量比），与聚乳酸（PLA）形成可生物降解复合材料，并实现性价比平衡。通过在180℃下使用熔融共混挤出机，改变混合时间、DPR组成以及增塑剂类型和组成，制备了DPR-PLA复合材料。通过压缩成型制备可生物降解测试样品，并使用物理、热学和力学表征方法进行分析。扫描电子显微镜图像表明DPR（90μm）在PLA基体中均匀分散。傅里叶变换红外光谱证实了DPR与PLA之间这种相互作用产生的酯化反应。30%重量比的DPR-PLA复合材料被认为是具有最低熔体流动指数（16g/10min）的最佳复合材料。这项工作证实，与聚己二酸对苯二甲酸丁二醇酯（PBAT）相比，添加10%重量比的柠檬酸三乙酯（TEC）具有更优异的效果，使最佳复合材料的断裂伸长率从2.10%提高到了4.20%。此外，向最佳复合材料中添加10%重量比的PBAT，其拉伸强度（21.80MPa）低于添加10%重量比TEC的复合材料（33.20MPa）。这些结果表明，所提出的复合材料有潜力作为餐具等一次性塑料的替代材料。
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