Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Hybrid Blends of LLDPE/Starch/PVA

Authors: Rahmah, M., Farhan, M., Akidah, N.M.Y

Abstract:

Polybag and mulch film in agricultural field are used plastics which caused environmental problems after transplantation and planting processes due to the discarded wastes. Thus a degradable polybag was designed in this study to replace non degradable polybag with natural biodegradable resin that is widely available, namely sago starch (SS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Hybrid blend consists of SS, PVA and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) was compounded at different ratios. The thermal and mechanical properties of the blends were investigated. Hybrid films underwent landfill degradation tests for up to 2 months. The films showed gelation and melting transition existed for all three systems with significant melting peaks by LLDPE and PVA. All hybrid blends loses its LLDPE semi crystalline characteristics as PVA and SS systems had disrupted crystallinity and enhanced the amorphosity of the hybrid system. Generally, blending SS with PVA improves the mechanical properties of the SS based materials. Tensile strength of each film was also decreased with the increase of SS contents while its modulus had increased with SS content.

Keywords: Appearance peak, LLDPE, PVA, sago starch.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1088760

References:

[1] Tang. X., Alavi, S., “Recent advances in starch, polyvinyl alcohol based polymer blends, nanocomposites and their biodegradability” Carb Polym, vol. 85, no.1, pp. 7-16, 2011.
[2] Ren, X., “Biodegradable plastics: a solution or a challenge?” J Clean Prod, vol. 11, no. 27, pp. 27 – 40 2003
[3] Guohua, Z., Ya, L., Cuilan, F., Min, Z., Caiqiong, Z., Zongdao, C. “Water resistance, mechanical properties and biodegradability of methylated-cornstarch/PVA blend film.” Polym Degrad Stab, vol. 91, no. 4, pp. 703-711, 2006
[4] Torres, F. G., Troncoso, O. P., Torres, C., Diaz, D. A., & Amaya, E. “Biodegradability and mechanical properties of starch films from Andean crops.” Int J Biol Macromol, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 603-606, 2011.
[5] Zhang X, Burgar I, Lourbakos E, Beh H. “The mechanical properties and phase structures of wheat protein/ polyvinyl alcohol blends studied by high-resolution solid-state NMR.” Polym, vol. 45, no. 10, pp. 3305-3312, 2004.
[6] Mohee, R., Unmar,G. “Determining biodegradability of plastic materials under controlled and natural composting environments.” Waste Manage, vol. 27, no. 11, pp. 1486-1493, 2007.
[7] Santayanon, R., Wootthikanokkhan, J. “Modification of cassava starch by using propionic anhydride and properties of the starch-blended polyester polyuthane.” Carbo Polym, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 17-24, 2003.
[8] Chang, J. H., Jang, T Ihn, K. J., Lee, W., Sur, G. S. “Poly (vinyl alcohol) nanocomposites with different clays: Pristine Clays and organoclays.” J Appl Polym Sci, vol. 90, no. 12, pp. 3208-3214, 2003.
[9] Mao, L. J., Imam, S., Gordon, S., Cinelli, P., & Chiellini, E. “Extruded corn-starch-glycerol-polyvinyl alcohol blends: mechanical properties, morphology and biodegradability.” J Polym Envs, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 205-211, 2000.
[10] Ibrahim, M. M., El- Zawawy, W. K., Nassar, M.A. “Synthesis and characterization of polyvinyl alcohol/nanospherical cellulose particle films.” Carbo Polym, vol. 79, no. 3, pp. 694-699, 2010.
[11] Lawton, J.W. “Effect of starch type on the properties of starch containing film.” Carbo Polym, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 203-208, 1996.
[12] Nawang, I.D., Danjaji, U.S., Ishiaku, H., Ismail, Z.A. Mohd Ishak. “Mechanical properties of sago starch-filled LLDPE composites.” Polym Test, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 167-172, 2001.
[13] Dvořàčková, M., Dung, T.K. “Degradation of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by Fenton Process (Published Conference Proceedings style),” in Proc. 13th Inter. Resear/Exp. Conf.,”Trends. Dev. Machin. Assoc. Tech.” Hammamet, 2009, pp. 925-928.