Search results for "Hydrothermal degradation"
showing 3 items of 3 documents
Hydrothermal ageing of polylactide/sisal biocomposites. Studies of water absorption behaviour and Physico-Chemical performance
2014
An accelerated hydrothermal degrading test was designed in order to analyse the synergic effect of water and temperature on PLA/sisal biocomposites with and without coupling agent. As well, the physicochemical properties of biocomposites were monitored along the hydrothermal test by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy, Size Exclusion Chromatography and Differential Scanning Calorimetry. The addition of fibre induced higher water absorption capability and promoted physical degradation, as observed in the surface topography. During the processing of biocomposites and throughout the hydrothermal ageing, a reduction of molecular weight due to chain scission was found. As a consequence, a fast…
Polylactide-based self-reinforced composites biodegradation: Individual and combined influence of temperature, water and compost
2018
[EN] Self-reinforced polymer composites (SRCs) are proposed as a suitable alternative for composite development, based in the combination of a polymeric matrix and a polymeric fibre made of the same polymer. SRCs based in polylactide (PLA) could be fully biodegradable and their valorisation routes could presumably be assimilated to those for neat PEA. In this sense, the aim of this study was to develop new self-reinforced PLA-based composites and ascertain their biodegradability. For this purpose, PLA-based SRCs were obtained through a thermo-compression procedure and their biodegradability corroborated under standard conditions (ISO 20200). Moreover, a deep study of the effect of the diffe…
Water absorption and hydrothermal performance of PHBV/sisal biocomposites
2014
[EN] The performance of biocomposites of poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate) (PHBV) and sisal fibre subjected to hydrothermal tests at different temperatures above the glass transition of PHBV (TH ¿ 26, 36 and 46 C) was evaluated in this study. The influences of both the fibre content and presence of coupling agent were focused. The water absorption capability and water diffusion rate were considered for a statistical factorial analysis. Afterwards, the physico-chemical properties of water-saturated biocomposites were assessed by Fourier-Transform Infrared Analysis, Size Exclusion Chromatography, Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Scanning Electron Microscopy. It was found that the water d…