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Injection-Molded Bioblends from Lignin and Biodegradable Polymers: Processing and Performance Evaluation

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Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of the incorporation of lignin and small quantities of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) as an impact modifying agent on blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). The addition of lignin resulted in a slight improvement of flexural strength and modulus of the ternary blending system. Incorporation of ENR into the blend resulted in an increase in notched Izod impact strength from 40 to 135% depending on the concentration of ENR. The addition of lignin into the blend resulted in an improvement of thermal stability of the ternary blend system. Morphological analysis showed a good dispersion of PHBV phases and lignin within the PCL matrix. Rheological characterization revealed that the presence of lignin resulted in increased storage modulus of the bioblend.

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Acknowledgements

The financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canada NSERC Lignoworks strategic network to carry out this work is gratefully acknowledged. The authors would also like to extend sincerest gratitude to Vidhya Nagarajan of the University of Guelph for editorial assistance and input during the manuscript writing process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering, Thornbrough Building, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Ben Adams, Manjusri Misra & Amar K. Mohanty

  2. Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre, Department of Plant Agriculture, Crop Science Building, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Ben Adams, Mohamed Abdelwahab, Manjusri Misra & Amar K. Mohanty

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  1. Ben Adams
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  2. Mohamed Abdelwahab
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  3. Manjusri Misra
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  4. Amar K. Mohanty
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Correspondence to Amar K. Mohanty.

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Mohamed Abdelwahab—On leave from Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, 31527, Egypt

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Adams, B., Abdelwahab, M., Misra, M. et al. Injection-Molded Bioblends from Lignin and Biodegradable Polymers: Processing and Performance Evaluation. J Polym Environ 26, 2360–2373 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-017-1132-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-017-1132-0

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