Preparation and characterization of polylactic acid/epoxidized palm oil/pineapple leaf fibre composites for packaging material /
The environmental impact of the accumulation of nonbiodegradable plastic wastes has prompted researchers to come up with biodegradable alternatives to plastic. Thermoplastic polylactic acid (PLA) is derived from a renewable source and has the mechanical properties that can rival its synthetic counte...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Kuala Lumpur :
Kulliyyah of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia,
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Click here to view 1st 24 pages of the thesis. Members can view fulltext at the specified PCs in the library. |
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| Summary: | The environmental impact of the accumulation of nonbiodegradable plastic wastes has prompted researchers to come up with biodegradable alternatives to plastic. Thermoplastic polylactic acid (PLA) is derived from a renewable source and has the mechanical properties that can rival its synthetic counterparts. However, its brittleness and slow degradation rate are factors that limit its application. The objective of this research is to improve the mechanical and thermal properties of PLA by plasticizing it with epoxidized palm oil (EPO) and reinforcing it with alkaline-treated pineapple leaf fibres (PALFs). In this research, plasticized PLA/pineapple leaf fibre composites (PLA/EPO/PALFs) were developed using the melt blending method. This research is divided into two phases. In the first phase, a fixed loading of PALFs treated with 10 w/v%, 15 w/v%, and 20 w/v% potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution is mixed with PLA and 10 wt% EPO. The effects of alkaline treatment of fibres on PLA/EPO/PALFs on the mechanical and morphological properties were evaluated. It was observed that the composite with 10 w/v% KOH-treated PALFs had the highest elongation-at-break, while the composite with 15 w/v% KOH-treated PALFs had the highest tensile strength. In the second phase, two treatments of KOH (10 w/v% and 15 w/v%) were selected based on the results of mechanical and morphological properties in the first phase. The second phase of this research involved repeating the steps in the first phase but with the PALF loadings varied (5 wt%, 10 wt%, 15 wt%). The EPO content stayed fixed at 10 wt%. The effect of various PALF loadings on the mechanical and thermal properties of PLA/EPO/PALFs was studied. The addition of EPO as plasticizer and PALFs as reinforcement filler have improved the mechanical and thermal properties of neat PLA composite. It is observed that the concentration of KOH influenced the mechanical properties of the fibre reinforced PLA composites, in which the tensile strengths, moduli, and elongations-at-break increased with increasing KOH concentration, and decreased after an optimum point. The amount of PALF in the composite also influenced the mechanical properties of the reinforced PLA composites, in which it is observed that the stiffness of the composites increased with increasing fibre loadings (increasing glass transition temperature and decreasing elongations-at-break values). The addition of EPO was observed to improve the flexibility neat PLA through plasticization effects, making it less brittle. |
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| Physical Description: | xiii, 53 leaves : colour illustrations ; 30cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 44-49). |