Abstract
Biodegradable composites based on poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate), reinforced with 7.5% or 15% by weight of wood fibers (WF) or basalt fibers (BF) were fabricated by injection molding. BF reinforced composites showed improvement in all properties, whereas WF composites showed an increase in Young’s modulus values, but a drop in strength and impact properties. When compared with the unmodified polymer, composites with 15% by weight of BF showed an increase of 74% in Young’s modulus and 41% in impact strength. Furthermore, the experimentally measured values of Young’s modulus were compared with values obtained in various theoretical micromechanical models. The Haplin-Kardas model was found to be in near approximation to the experimental data. The morphological aspect of the biocomposites was studied using scanning electron microscopy to obtain the distribution and interfacial adhesion of the fibers. Additionally, biodegradation tests of the biocomposites were performed in saline solution at 40 °C by studying the weight loss and mechanical properties. It was observed that the presence of fibers affects the rate of water absorption and the highest rate was seen for composites with 15% by weight of WF. This is dependent on the nature of the fiber. After both the first and second weeks mechanical properties decreased slightly about 10%.
Highlights
A growing issue has emerged recently due to the increase in the production of non-degradable, petrochemical polymer composites
As can be seen from the Scanning electron microscope (SEM) pictures, both basalt fibers (BF) and wood fibers (WF) were evenly distributed in the matrix without significant agglomeration
In the case of BF improved in properties, it was connected with BF high mechanical properties
Summary
A growing issue has emerged recently due to the increase in the production of non-degradable, petrochemical polymer composites. These materials have good mechanical properties but are inexpensive and easy to produce. After their period of use, they typically cannot be recycled and cause environmental pollution. Bio-based polymers can be synthesized from petrochemical raw materials or bio-resources. Among the latter group, which has attracted increasing interest from the scientific community and industry, the most popular are polylactide and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) polymers.
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