Toddy palm fruit have an apparent density below 0.8 g/cm³and offer an interesting lightweight construction potential in polylactide(PLA)composites reinforced with 37 mass-%fibres.Single fibre bundles show similar...Toddy palm fruit have an apparent density below 0.8 g/cm³and offer an interesting lightweight construction potential in polylactide(PLA)composites reinforced with 37 mass-%fibres.Single fibre bundles show similar mechanical properties compared with coir:tensile strength of 240 MPa,Young´s modulus of 3.8 GPa and an elongation at break of 31%.However,density and diameter(~50μm)of fruit fibre bundles are significantly lower.The compression moulded composites have a density of 0.9 g/cm³and achieved an unnotched Charpy impact strength of 12 kJ/m^(2),a tensile strength of 25 MPa,Young’s modulus of 1.9 GPa and an elongation at break of 9%.Due to the high porosity of the composites and the different stress-strain behaviour of fibre and matrix the fibre-reinforcement potential could not be fully used.Maximum stress of the composite was reached at the elongation at break of the PLA-matrix(~2%)while the fibre achieved its maximum stress at an elongation of~31%.After reaching the maximum stress of the composite,the fibres were pulled out from the matrix with low energy absorption,resulting in a decrease in stress and a limited reinforcement potential.Additionally,the study investigates whether an insect attack by the Asian fruit fly on the mesocarp has a significant influence on the mechanical fibre characteristics.The results have shown that only the rough surface of the fibre bundles is smoothed by insect infestation.The mechanical properties were not significantly affected.For this reason insect-infested fruits of the toddy palm,which are no longer suitable for food production,can be used for the production of sustainable composite materials.展开更多
In order to prepare cellulose nanocrystals( CNCs)-coated polylactide( PLA) microspheres for the use of drug delivery and tissue engineering,a Pickering emulsion route was applied. The stable Pickering emulsions were p...In order to prepare cellulose nanocrystals( CNCs)-coated polylactide( PLA) microspheres for the use of drug delivery and tissue engineering,a Pickering emulsion route was applied. The stable Pickering emulsions were prepared using CNCs as efficient stabilizers without any additional surfactant. The microspheres were successfully fabricated after volatilization of the solvent. What's more,the size of microspheres could be controlled by fabrication parameters.展开更多
A blending strategy of virgin and reprocessed polylactide may be postulated as an alternative to reduce the material cost at industrial level,and as a valorization route to plastic waste management of production scrap...A blending strategy of virgin and reprocessed polylactide may be postulated as an alternative to reduce the material cost at industrial level,and as a valorization route to plastic waste management of production scraps.The performance of blends prepared from virgin polylactide and polylactide mechanically reprocessed up to two cycles(PLA-V/R)was assessed in terms of thermo-oxidative stability,morphology,viscoelasticity and thermal kinetics for energetic valorization.PLA-V/R blends showed appropriate thermo-oxidative stability.The amorphous nature of polylactide was preserved after blending.The viscoelastic properties showed an increment of the mechanical blend effectiveness,which suggested the feasibility of using PLA-V/R blends under similar mechanical conditions to those of virgin PLA goods.Finally,it was shown that the energetic valorization of PLA-V/R blends would result in a more feasible process,due to the lower required activation energy,thus highlighting the advantages of the energetic demand for the process.In conclusion,PLA-V/R blends showed similar processability,service performance and valorization routes as virgin PLA and therefore could be relevant in the sustainable circular industry of bioplastics.展开更多
基金funded within the framework of the BMBF exchange project“Thai-German Agro-based Fibre Exchange Programme-Sustainable Development:From Plant to Product(Acronym:AgroFibre)”under the registration number 01DP15016.
文摘Toddy palm fruit have an apparent density below 0.8 g/cm³and offer an interesting lightweight construction potential in polylactide(PLA)composites reinforced with 37 mass-%fibres.Single fibre bundles show similar mechanical properties compared with coir:tensile strength of 240 MPa,Young´s modulus of 3.8 GPa and an elongation at break of 31%.However,density and diameter(~50μm)of fruit fibre bundles are significantly lower.The compression moulded composites have a density of 0.9 g/cm³and achieved an unnotched Charpy impact strength of 12 kJ/m^(2),a tensile strength of 25 MPa,Young’s modulus of 1.9 GPa and an elongation at break of 9%.Due to the high porosity of the composites and the different stress-strain behaviour of fibre and matrix the fibre-reinforcement potential could not be fully used.Maximum stress of the composite was reached at the elongation at break of the PLA-matrix(~2%)while the fibre achieved its maximum stress at an elongation of~31%.After reaching the maximum stress of the composite,the fibres were pulled out from the matrix with low energy absorption,resulting in a decrease in stress and a limited reinforcement potential.Additionally,the study investigates whether an insect attack by the Asian fruit fly on the mesocarp has a significant influence on the mechanical fibre characteristics.The results have shown that only the rough surface of the fibre bundles is smoothed by insect infestation.The mechanical properties were not significantly affected.For this reason insect-infested fruits of the toddy palm,which are no longer suitable for food production,can be used for the production of sustainable composite materials.
基金National Key Technology R&D Program of China(No.2014BAC13B02)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.51403035)+1 种基金Programme of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities,China(No.105-07-005735)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities,China(No.15D110510)
文摘In order to prepare cellulose nanocrystals( CNCs)-coated polylactide( PLA) microspheres for the use of drug delivery and tissue engineering,a Pickering emulsion route was applied. The stable Pickering emulsions were prepared using CNCs as efficient stabilizers without any additional surfactant. The microspheres were successfully fabricated after volatilization of the solvent. What's more,the size of microspheres could be controlled by fabrication parameters.
文摘A blending strategy of virgin and reprocessed polylactide may be postulated as an alternative to reduce the material cost at industrial level,and as a valorization route to plastic waste management of production scraps.The performance of blends prepared from virgin polylactide and polylactide mechanically reprocessed up to two cycles(PLA-V/R)was assessed in terms of thermo-oxidative stability,morphology,viscoelasticity and thermal kinetics for energetic valorization.PLA-V/R blends showed appropriate thermo-oxidative stability.The amorphous nature of polylactide was preserved after blending.The viscoelastic properties showed an increment of the mechanical blend effectiveness,which suggested the feasibility of using PLA-V/R blends under similar mechanical conditions to those of virgin PLA goods.Finally,it was shown that the energetic valorization of PLA-V/R blends would result in a more feasible process,due to the lower required activation energy,thus highlighting the advantages of the energetic demand for the process.In conclusion,PLA-V/R blends showed similar processability,service performance and valorization routes as virgin PLA and therefore could be relevant in the sustainable circular industry of bioplastics.
