Influence of Sugarcane Bagasse Fiber Size on Biodegradable Composites of Thermoplastic Starch

Although thermoplastic starch (TPS) is biodegradable, its low mechanical resistance limits its wide application. Sugarcane bagasse (SB) fibers can be used as reinforcement in TPS matrix composites, but the influence of fiber size on the properties of the composite is still unknown. In this study, TPS composites reinforced with SB short fibers of four sizes were processed and characterized in order to analyze the influence of fiber size on the mechanical properties of the TPS/SB composite. It was observed that the interaction between fiber and matrix was good and optimized when the fibers are sifted in sieves between 30 and 50 mesh, obtaining fibers with average length of 1569 +/- 640 mu m and average diameter of 646 +/- 166 mu m. For these composites, increases of more than 660% in the modulus and more than 100% in the maximum tension were verified when compared to the pure TPS.