Thermorheological and mechanical properties of cellulose reinforced PLA bio-composites

Cellulose fibers reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) bio-composites were developed by means of extrusion and injection molding process. The thermal properties of the developed bio-composites were investigated by thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). TGA results provided an upper limit of thermal processing window. The rheological properties of bio-composites showed shear thinning behavior and predicted a suitable temperature profile for processing the bio-composites. Heat distortion temperature of PLA/wood fibers (WP)/bioadimide bio-composites was slightly improved which could result in high temperature service life. Good interaction between short fibers and PLA resulted in better mechanical properties. With the addition of 13% bioadimide (bio-additive), tensile strength of bio-composites increased significantly. The impact strength of bio-composites was also considerably increased due to addition of bio-additive with bio-composites. This novel bio-additive was found very effective not only for fiber matrix adhesion but also processability of bio-composites. X-ray computed tomography (CT) demonstrated cellulose fibers orientation and the fiber matrix networking microstructures in a composite system. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.