Bio-based composite from poly(butylene succinate) and peanut shell waste adding maleinized linseed oil

Abstract

Nowadays, the biobased plastic products have become one of the worldwide topics that people give the attention. Applications of bio-based poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) is interesting since it is fully biodegradable. However, the resin cost is expensive compared to olefins so that it is not widely used. This research attempted to produce cost-effective composite sheets from PBS and peanut shell powder (PSP) with particle size of 100 mesh in the weight ratio of 70/30, 60/40, and 50/50 wt% using a twin-screw extruder and then a compression molding. In addition, maleinized linseed oil (MLO) of 3 phr was used as a compatibilizer for the composites. It was found that the obtained composites had higher Young’s modulus and Shore D hardness with respect to the PSP content, but elongation at break was reduced. The impact resistance by means of the falling dart impact test also reduced with the higher PSP content. Adding MLO into the PBS/PSP composites increased elongation at break and impact resistance, but reduced the rigidity due to plasticizing effect. Due to lignocellulosic nature of PSP, the thermal stability of the composites was decreased and MLO did not have significant influence on it. After the weathering testing for 60 h, mechanical properties and thermal stability of the composites were reduced significantly implying that these bio-based composites could degrade faster compared to pure PBS sample.