PLA/banana fiber based sustainable biocomposites: A manufacturing perspective

Abstract

In the present experimental investigation, biocomposites based on short banana fiber (20 wt%) and poly-lactic acid were fabricated using three different processing techniques, namely direct injection molding (DIM), extrusion injection molding (EIM) and extrusion compression molding (ECM). The thermal and mechanical characterization as well as dynamic mechanical analysis has been performed to understand and compare the performance of the developed biocomposites. FTIR analysis has been conducted to investigate the presence and type of interfacial interaction in the biocomposites. XRD analysis was conducted to investigate the structure and to measure the crystallinity of the biocomposites. A significant improvement in the mechanical (tensile and flexural properties), dynamic mechanical properties (storage modulus, loss modulus, and tan delta) and crystallinity of the biocomposites fabricated by EIM were observed. A novel approach was used to examine the orientation and distribution of the fibers within the developed biocomposites. The fiber damage in terms of breaking, bending, twisting and formation of the clusters have been observed. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that the fiber pull-out and fracture are dominating the failure of biocomposite under loading.