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Sustainability of Polymeric Blends and Biocomposites

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymeric Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2023) | Viewed by 4826

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Prof. Dr. Maurizia Seggiani

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Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, Università di Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Interests: bio-composites; processability; biodegradability; green chemistry and suistanability

Prof. Dr. Patrizia Cinelli

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Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, Università di Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Interests: biodegradable polymers; sustainability; biobased; composites and nanocomposites
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Dr. Norma Mallegni

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Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, Università di Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Interests: biodegradable polymers; sustainability; biobased; composites; nanocomposites; processing; rheology; mechanical properties and thermal behavior of polymers and biocomposites

Dr. Vito Gigante

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Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, Università di Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Interests: processing; rheology; mechanical properties; fracture mechanics and thermal behavior of polymers and biocomposites
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last years, a great attention has been focused on research to replace petroleum-based commodity plastics with biodegradable and biocompatible polymers, the interest in these polymers is considerable in the prospect to decrease the world resources in oil and in a concern to limit the contribution of plastics to the waste disposal. Biocomposites are a special class of composite materials, obtained by blending natural fibers with bio-based and/or biodegradable polymers (biopolymers), they represent an ecological substitution to conventional petroleum-derived materials, offering an additional wide variety of advantages, such as renewability, low density and biodegradability. Generally, they present poor mechanical properties, restricted processing conditions and limited end-use applications.

In order to overcome these drawbacks, blending with other polymers as well as reinforcement with fillers or nanofillers has been widely investigated and utilized. This Special Issue is focused to bring together a number of original papers and reviews covering (but not restricted to) all the aspects related to the preparation and processing biopolymer-based composites to replacing fossil-based materials with biobased counterparts with suitable properties, using physical and chemical treatments to improve the final performances of the materials in view of their application, such as compatibilization, functionalization and coating. Topic of primary interest include the characterization of biocomposites in terms of mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical, chemical, magnetic properties and their application in different fields (Biomedical, Packaging, Food Industry, Agriculture, Electronical, etc.) as well as biodegradability and sustainability evaluated by Life Cycle Assessment studies.

Prof. Dr. Maurizia Seggiani
Prof. Dr. Patrizia Cinelli
Dr. Norma Mallegni
Dr. Vito Gigante
Guest Editors

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Keywords

suistanability
biodegradability
biobased blends
bio-composites
functional properties
natural fibres
compatibilization

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 6185 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seawater Biodegradable Poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate)—Wheat Bran Biocomposites

by Giovanna Strangis, Damiano Rossi, Patrizia Cinelli and Maurizia Seggiani

Materials 2023, 16(7), 2593; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16072593 - 24 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1605

Abstract

The present work focused on the development and characterization of biocomposites based on a fully bio-based polyester, poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) (PBSA), and wheat bran derived by flour milling. PBSA-bran composites containing 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt.% of wheat bran were produced via melt extrusion and processed by injection molding. Their thermal, rheological, morphological, and tensile properties were investigated. In addition, a biodegradation test in a natural marine environment was conducted on composite dog-bones to assess the capacity of the used filler to increase the PBSA biodegradation rate. The composites maintained similar melt processability and mechanical properties to virgin PBSA with up to 15 wt.% bran content. This result was also supported by morphological investigation, which showed good filler dispersion within the polymer matrix at low-mid bran content, whereas poor polymer-filler dispersion occurred at higher concentrations. Furthermore, the biodegradation tests showed bran’s capacity to improve the PBSA biodegradation rate, probably due to the hygroscopic bran swelling, which induced the fragmentation of the dog-bone with a consequent increase in the polymeric matrix–seawater interfacial area, accelerating the degradation mechanisms. These results encourage the use of wheat bran, an abundant and low-cost agri-food by-product, as a filler in PBSA-based composites to develop products with good processability, mechanical properties, and controlled biodegradability in marine environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Polymeric Blends and Biocomposites)

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17 pages, 5761 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wood Residue-Derived Biochar as a Low-Cost, Lubricating Filler in Poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) Biocomposites

by Miriam Cappello, Damiano Rossi, Sara Filippi, Patrizia Cinelli and Maurizia Seggiani

Materials 2023, 16(2), 570; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16020570 - 06 Jan 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1421

Abstract

This study focused on the development of a novel biocomposite material formed by a thermoplastic biodegradable polyester, poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA), and a carbonaceous filler as biochar (BC) derived by the pyrolysis of woody biomass waste. Composites with various BC contents (5, 10, 15, and 20 wt.%) were obtained by melt extrusion and investigated in terms of their processability, thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties. In all the composites, BC lowered melt viscosity, behaving as a lubricant, and enhancing composite extrudability and injection moulding at high temperatures up to 20 wt.% of biochar. While the use of biochar did not significantly change composite thermal stability, it increased its stiffness (Young modulus). Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) revealed the presence of a second crystal phase induced by the filler addition. Furthermore, results suggest that biochar may form a particle network that hinders polymer chain disentanglement, reducing polymer flexibility. A biochar content of 10 wt.% was selected as the best trade-off concentration to improve the composite processability and cost competitiveness without compromising excessively the tensile properties. The findings support the use of biochar as a sustainable renewable filler and pigment for PBSA. Biochar is a suitable candidate to replace more traditional carbon black pigments for the production of biodegradable and inexpensive innovative PBSA composites with potential fertilizing properties to be used in agricultural applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Polymeric Blends and Biocomposites)

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17 pages, 8193 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Structural, Mechanical and Flammability Characterization of Crosslinked Talc Composites with Different Particle Sizes

by Beata Podkościelna, Tomasz Klepka, Przemysław Podkościelny, Anita Bocho-Janiszewska, Tomasz Wasilewski and Łukasz Klapiszewski

Materials 2022, 15(13), 4492; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15134492 - 25 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1193

Abstract

The influence of filler particle size on selected physicochemical and functional properties of polymer composites was analyzed. The following test was carried out for the system: the bisphenol A glycerolate (1 glycerol/phenol) di-methacrylate (BPA.DM) was subjected to UV-polymerization in bulk with N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP) as a polymer matrix and talc with particle sizes ranging from ≤8 to 710 µm as a non-toxic and cheap mineral filler. An effective method of preparing cross-linked polymeric composites with talc was developed. The obtained samples were subjected to structural analysis and the thermal, mechanical and flammability properties were assessed. It has been empirically confirmed that the talc particles are incorporated into the composite structure. However, with increasing particle size, the composite heterogeneity increases. In the case of the developed method of sample production, homogeneous systems were obtained for particles in the ≤8–250 µm range. The surface roughness of the samples correlates directly with the size of talc particles. The value of Young’s modulus during the axial stretching of samples decreases with the increasing size of talc particles. For the composites containing ≤15 and ≤35 µm talc particles, the highest values were obtained under bending conditions. There was no equivocal effect of particle size on the composites’ swelling in water. The addition of talc reduces the flame height and intensity slightly. The biggest difference was obtained for the composites containing relatively large talc particles. It was proved that the selected properties of polymer composites can be controlled depending on the size of the talc particles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Polymeric Blends and Biocomposites)

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