Degradation Characteristics of Rice Straw/Poly (Lactic Acid) Composites

To consider the effective utilization of agricultural wastes, rice straw/Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) composites were prepared by the mechanically compounding and injection molding. The water contents were increased with increasing the rice straw content. After natural weathering or burial in soil, more microcracks were observed on the surface of the PLA composites rather than the pure PLA. Moreover the tensile strength and the fracture strain of PLA composites were obviously decreased with increasing the weathering and burial testing term.