Thermoforming of polylactide nanocomposite films for packaging containers

Abstract

Experimental results of thermoforming of two kinds of polylactide containers of similar capacity but differing in shape were used to determine the basic parameters of this process. The films made of both pure polylactide or polylactide nanocomposites, the latter including a montmorillonite nanofiller (5 wt. %) and poly(ethylene glycol) (10 wt. %) or poly(methyl methacrylate) (10 wt. %), were applied to forming these containers. These three kinds of films were 250 or 400žm thick. It was found that the containers could be thermoformed in the temperature range of 75-90° and that the film thickness affected the dispersion of the container wall thicknesses. Thus, it has been confirmed that a thorough experimental study is necessary before the manufacturing of a specific type of container thermoformed from pure polylactide or its nanocomposites could be implemented. The study should be aimed mainly at a reduction in the dispersion of the container wall thickness.