A WOOD BIOPLASTIC COMPOSITE FROM SOY FLOUR AND SAWDUST
INFLUENCE OF PROCESS PARAMETERS AND COMPOSITION ON PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52292/j.laar.2020.354Keywords:
Bio-composites, bioplastic, soy protein, sawdust, thermocompressionAbstract
The influence of the processing conditions and composition on the properties of biocomposites made of a bioplastic matrix from soybean protein, crosslinked with glutaraldehyde, reinforced with lignocellulosic material from wood sawdust (Wood Bio-Plastic Composite, WBPC) was investigated. The WBPCs were obtained by thermocompression applying a pressure of 70 bar at 100 and 120 °C for 30 or 60 minutes. Several test pieces were prepared varying the crosslinker/protein and protein/sawdust ratios. The samples obtained were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), flexural and hardness tests, and water absorption and swelling, according to international ASTM standards. The crosslinking of the protein improves the mechanical properties of the biocomposites, especially when contents of bioplastic matrix and crosslinker are low. It was also verified that the WBPCs prepared in this work recover their original shape and dimensions after immersion in water and subsequent drying. The results were explained considering crosslinker-protein and protein-sawdust interactions.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Once a paper is accepted for publication, the author is assumed to have transferred its copyright to the Publisher. The Publisher will not, however, put any limitation on the personal freedom of the author to use material from the paper in other publications. From September 2019 it is required that authors explicitly sign a copyright release form before their paper gets published. The Author Copyright Release form can be found here
