Yoksan Rangrong, Dang Khanh Minh
Department of Packaging and Materials Technology, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand; Center for Advanced Studies for Agriculture and Food (CASAF), Kasetsart University Institute for Advanced Studies, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
Department of Packaging and Materials Technology, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Mar 15;231:123332. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.123332. Epub 2023 Jan 18.
Although thermoplastic starch (TPS) has been developed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and environmental and health-related impacts from plastics, high moisture sensitivity and poor mechanical properties limited its practical applications. Blending TPS with biodegradable polyesters, i.e., poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) (PBSA), is an alternative approach; however, the compatibility among polymer phases needs to be improved. Here, polyethylene glycol sorbitan monostearate (Tween 60), an amphiphilic surfactant, was proposed to improve the compatibility and performance of the TPS/PLA/PBSA 40/30/30 blend. The concentration of Tween 60 varied in the range of 0.5-2.5 wt%. The blends were fabricated using an extruder through two different melt-mixing routes, i.e., direct mixing and masterbatch mixing, and then converted to film using a blown film extrusion line. Tween 60 could improve compatibility between TPS dispersed phase and PLA/PBSA matrix, resulting in increased tensile strength, extensibility, impact strength, thermal stability, and water vapor and oxygen barrier properties of the ternary blend. In addition, better performance of the blend was obtained from the direct mixing route. Tween 60 could thus be considered a potential compatibilizer for the TPS/PLA/PBSA blend film, which can be further used as a biodegradable packaging material.
尽管热塑性淀粉(TPS)已被开发用于减少塑料产生的温室气体排放以及对环境和健康的相关影响,但其高湿度敏感性和较差的机械性能限制了其实际应用。将TPS与可生物降解聚酯,即聚乳酸(PLA)和聚(丁二酸丁二醇酯-共-己二酸丁二醇酯)(PBSA)共混,是一种替代方法;然而,聚合物相之间的相容性需要改善。在此,提出用两亲性表面活性剂聚乙二醇山梨醇酐单硬脂酸酯(吐温60)来改善TPS/PLA/PBSA 40/30/30共混物的相容性和性能。吐温60的浓度在0.5-2.5 wt%范围内变化。通过两种不同的熔融共混路线,即直接混合和母料混合,使用挤出机制造共混物,然后使用吹膜挤出生产线将其制成薄膜。吐温60可以改善TPS分散相和PLA/PBSA基体之间的相容性,从而提高三元共混物的拉伸强度、延展性、冲击强度、热稳定性以及水蒸气和氧气阻隔性能。此外,通过直接混合路线可获得性能更好的共混物。因此,吐温60可被认为是TPS/PLA/PBSA共混薄膜的潜在增容剂,该共混薄膜可进一步用作可生物降解包装材料。