@Article{JRM.2017.634170,
AUTHOR = {O. Gil-Castell, J. D. Badia, A. Ribes-Greus},
TITLE = {Suitability of Blends from Virgin and Reprocessed Polylactide: Performance and Energy Valorization Kinetics},
JOURNAL = {Journal of Renewable Materials},
VOLUME = {6},
YEAR = {2018},
NUMBER = {4},
PAGES = {370--382},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/jrm/v6n4/28846},
ISSN = {2164-6341},
ABSTRACT = {A blending strategy of virgin and reprocessed polylactide may be postulated as an alternative to reduce the material cost at industrial level, and as a valorization route to plastic waste management of production scraps. The performance of blends prepared from virgin polylactide and polylactide mechanically reprocessed up to two cycles (PLA-V/R) was assessed in terms of thermo-oxidative stability, morphology, viscoelasticity and thermal kinetics for energetic valorization. PLA-V/R blends showed appropriate thermo-oxidative stability. The amorphous nature of polylactide was preserved after blending. The viscoelastic properties showed an increment of the mechanical blend effectiveness, which suggested the feasibility of using PLA-V/R blends under similar mechanical conditions to those of virgin PLA goods. Finally, it was shown that the energetic valorization of PLA-V/R blends would result in a more feasible process, due to the lower required activation energy, thus highlighting the advantages of the energetic demand for the process. In conclusion, PLA-V/R blends showed similar processability, service performance and valorization routes as virgin PLA and therefore could be relevant in the sustainable circular industry of bioplastics.},
DOI = {10.7569/JRM.2017.634170}
}