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Packaging Film of PP/LDPE/PLA/Clay Composite: Physical, Barrier and Degradable Properties

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Abstract

This work sought to improve the properties of polypropylene (PP) for single layer film application by incorporating low density polyethylene (LDPE), poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and montmorillonite (MMT). The addition of LDPE in PP improved the elongation at break and tear strength. The PP/LDPE blend at a 80:20 (w/w) ratio was selected for blending with PLA and MMT and the PP/LDPE/PLA/MMT composite showed an increased tensile modulus, while the elongation at break decreased, with increasing PLA and MMT contents. The morphological structure of the respective nanocomposites was examined using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy analyses. For the barrier properties, the incorporation of PLA and MMT in PP/LDPE blend tended to dramatically decrease the oxygen permeability but slightly increase the water vapor permeability. Moreover, the PP/LDPE/PLA/MMT composite as a new effective film decreased the tomato loss weight during low temperature storage (15–20 °C) compared to the PP film.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the IRPC Public Company Limited and the Program of Petrochemistry and Polymer Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University for material and instrument support. We would like to thank Dr. Robert Butcher for proof reading the article and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Petrochemistry and Polymer Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, 10330, Bangkok, Thailand

    Supornpat Mooninta

  2. Department of Chemical Technology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, 10330, Bangkok, Thailand

    Sirilux Poompradub & Pattarapan Prasassarakich

  3. Center of Excellence on Petrochemical and Materials Technology, Chulalongkorn University, 10330, Bangkok, Thailand

    Sirilux Poompradub & Pattarapan Prasassarakich

  4. Green Materials for Industry Application Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, 10330, Bangkok, Thailand

    Sirilux Poompradub & Pattarapan Prasassarakich

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  1. Supornpat Mooninta
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  2. Sirilux Poompradub
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  3. Pattarapan Prasassarakich
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Contributions

The manuscript was written through contributions of all authors. All authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript and contributed equally. Conceptualization: PP, SM. Methodology: PP, SM, SP, Formal analysis and investigation: SM, Writing - original draft preparation: SM, Writing - review and editing: PP, SP, Funding acquisition: PP, SM, Resources: PP, SM, Supervision: PP, SP.

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Correspondence to Pattarapan Prasassarakich.

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Mooninta, S., Poompradub, S. & Prasassarakich, P. Packaging Film of PP/LDPE/PLA/Clay Composite: Physical, Barrier and Degradable Properties. J Polym Environ 28, 3116–3128 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-020-01840-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-020-01840-6

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