Sudhakar Muniyasamy^1,2, Osei Ofosu^1,2, Maya Jacob John^1,2, Rajesh D. Anandjiwala^1,2*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.2, pp. 133-145, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634104

Abstract The present study investigates the mineralization of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-covalerate) (PHBV), and PLA/PHBV blend in compost and soil burial environments. The mineralization was assayed on the basis of carbon dioxide (CO2) release from the test materials incubated in compost and soil for a period of 200 days. The degradation was followed by means of fragmentation, thermogravimetric (TGA), FTIR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. The results showed that PLA, PHBV and blend of PLA/PHBV achieved almost 90% biodegradation under composting conditions, while PHBV, PLA/PHBV blend and PLA respectively achieved only 35%, 32% More >

Xiaoqing Zhang^*, Simon Schmidt^φ, Nick Rigopoulos, Januar Gotama, Eustathios Petinakis

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.2, pp. 91-100, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634135

Abstract The behavior of a biodegradable CO₂ -based polymer polypropylene carbonate (PPC) as polymer matrix of wood fi ber (WF) composites was examined and compared with that of using poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as the matrix. The PPC/WF composites displayed poor mechanical properties as compared to PLA/WF composites because PPC is an amorphous polymer with low T_g and poor thermal stability. However, when PPC was used in conjunction with PLA in WF composites, the mechanical strength and modulus of the composites could match or even exceed the level of PLA/WF composites. The strong intermolecular interactions between PPC and More >

David Grewell^1,*, Gowrishankar Srinivasan¹, Eric Cochran²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.3, pp. 157-165, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634112

Abstract Presented in this study is a novel recycling strategy for poly(lactic acid) (PLA) in which the depolymerization is rapidly promoted by the base-catalyzed hydrol-/alcohol-ysis of the terminal ester bonds under mild conditions. Post-consumer PLA water bottles were cut into approximately 6 x 2 mm plastic chips and heated to 50–60o C in water, ethanol, or methanol as the depolymerization medium. A variety of carbonate salts and alkaline metal oxides were screened as potential catalysts. High-power ultrasound was also investigated as a means to accelerate the PLA decomposition. Both mass loss and HPLC analysis of the More >

Hedieh Teymoorzadeh¹, Denis Rodrigue^2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.4, pp. 270-277, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634127

Abstract This work investigates the effect of the addition of fl ax fi ber (15, 25, and 40 wt%) on the mechanical, morphological, rheological, and thermal properties of polylactic acid (PLA). In the fi rst step, no coupling agent was used to produce fully biodegradable and biobased composites. In particular, fl exural tests were performed on the composites to evaluate their mechanical properties, while density, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and rheological tests were also carried out. Scanning electron microscopy images (SEM) show good fl ax fi ber dispersion in the PLA matrix along More >

Idalba A. Hidalgo A.^∗, Felipe Sojo^†, Francisco Arvelo^†, Marcos A. Sabino^∗,‡

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.10, No.2, pp. 85-105, 2013, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2013.010.085

Abstract The electrospinning technique is a method used to produce nano and microfibers using the influence of electrostatic forces. Porous three dimensional networks of continuous and interconnected fibers as scaffolds were obtained from a poly (lactic acid) solution. The concentration of the polymeric solution, 12.5% m/w, as well as the conditions of voltage (V=11kV) and tip-metallic collector distance (H=13cm) were established to develop these scaffolds through the electrospinning process. The characteristics of the scaffolds, such as fiber diameter, sintering and the biomimetics of the characteristics of a native extra cellular matrix were verified by Scanning Electron More >

Y. Shimamura¹, Y. Shibata², K. Tohgo³, H. Araki⁴

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.6, No.3, pp. 189-194, 2008, DOI:10.3970/icces.2008.006.189

Abstract Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable plastic made from lactic acid, and can be produced by renewable raw materials. The mechanical properties of PLA are, however, not sufficient for structural materials. In our study, carbon nanofiber reinforced PLA was fabricated to overcome the deficiency of PLA and the mechanical properties were measured at room and elevated temperatures. Vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF) was used for reinforcement. Three point bending specimens were fabricated by using injection molding, and then bending stiffness, bending strength and fracture toughness were measured for amorphous and crystallized specimens. As a result, More >