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Title Application of Fungal Biomass for the Development of New Polylactic Acid-Based Biocomposites
ID_Doc 8987
Authors Asadollahzadeh, M; Mahboubi, A; Taherzadeh, MJ; Åkesson, D; Lennartsson, PR
Title Application of Fungal Biomass for the Development of New Polylactic Acid-Based Biocomposites
Year 2022
Published Polymers, 14.0, 9
DOI 10.3390/polym14091738
Abstract Fungal biomass (FB), a by-product of the fermentation processes produced in large volumes, is a promising biomaterial that can be incorporated into poly(lactic acid) (PLA) to develop enhanced biocomposites that fully comply with the biobased circular economy concept. The PLA/FB composites, with the addition of triethyl citrate (TEC) as a biobased plasticizer, were fabricated by a microcompounder at 150 degrees C followed by injection molding. The effects of FB (10 and 20 wt %) and TEC (5, 10, and 15 wt %) contents on the mechanical, thermal and surface properties of the biocomposites were analyzed by several techniques. The PLA/FB/TEC composites showed a rough surface in their fracture section. A progressive decrease in tensile strength and Young's modulus was observed with increasing FB and TEC, while elongation at break and impact strength started to increase. The neat PLA and biocomposite containing 10% FB and 15% TEC exhibited the lowest (3.84%) and highest (224%) elongation at break, respectively. For all blends containing FB, the glass transition, crystallization and melting temperatures were shifted toward lower values compared to the neat PLA. The incorporation of FB to PLA thus offers the possibility to overcome one of the main drawbacks of PLA, which is brittleness.
Author Keywords fungal biomass (FB); poly(lactic acid) (PLA); triethyl citrate (TEC); biopolymers; biocomposite; brittleness
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:000794417800001
WoS Category Polymer Science
Research Area Polymer Science
PDF https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/9/1738/pdf?version=1650875306
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