Comparison of Different Processing Methods to Prepare Poly(lactid acid)–Hydrotalcite Composites

The effect of the compounding method on the morphology and on the properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-hydrotalcite (HT) composites was studied. Moreover, the influence of two different kinds of HT - organically modified (OM-HT) and unmodified (U-HT) - and their concentration was evaluated. The composites were prepared using either a single screw extruder (SSE), a counter rotating twin-screw compounder (TSC) or a corotating twin-screw extruder (TSE). The prepared materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis, mechanical and rheological measurements. The results indicated that the best morphology, i.e., particles dimension and dis…