Abstract
A multifunctional biodegradable additive powder has been created for simultaneous enhancement of toughness and compostability of the biopolymer poly(lactic acid) (PLA). PLA has promising strength and stiffness compared to commodity plastics, but the neat polymer is not a direct replacement for petroleum-based plastics in consumer products due to its brittle fracture and low ductility. Although officially certified as biodegradable, PLA suffers from a slow composting rate and is not considered compostable outside of specialized environments such as those found in industrial composters (where temperatures approaching 60 °C are used). A powder-based additive has been developed that increases both the elongation at break and the composting rate of PLA to enhance the attractiveness of PLA over current commodity plastics. In this study, various amounts of the additive are compounded into PLA using a single screw extruder. Test specimens are prepared using the additive manufacturing method of fused filament fabrication. The PLA-based composites show a minimal loss of strength and stiffness as compared to plasticized PLA resins, and the additives provide tunable properties to the material in the ability to control elongation versus strength and stiffness. Direct tensile testing of 3.75 mm filament for additive manufacturing to compare material properties is also investigated. The composting behavior is investigated using specimens made by extrusion as part of an additive manufacturing model system. Composting studies show an increase in composting rate under elevated temperature of 58 °C and 50 % relative humidity under modified ASTM D5338 soil contact testing. Microbial analysis indicates that the additive particles support the growth of specific degraders and shifts the composition of the microbial population of bacteria and fungi and has potential for enhancing the compostability in home compost.
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