Improvement of the Mechanical Properties of Biodegradable Polymers Using a Microcellular Foaming Process and Natural By-Products

Abstract

Biodegradable plastics based on biomass are currently the subject of active research. However, they have shortcomings that include weak mechanical properties and high prices. Therefore we added wood powder and rice bran, which are generated as by-products from natural raw materials. In addition, a microcellular foaming process was applied to form pores inside the plastics. Various coupling agents were assessed and compared, and appropriate coupling agents were selected for each polymer. In addition, we studied the effect of porosity and natural by-product content on the mechanical properties of the biodegradable plastics. We also confirmed that environmentally friendly plastics could be made lighter and their mechanical strength could be improved through the addition of by-products from natural raw materials.

Keywords:

• Injection molding
• Mechanical properties
• Microcellular foaming process
• Polylactic acid

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2011-0004990).