Abstract
Abstract : Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a well known biodegradable polymer that can be applied for short term packaging in food and cosmetics. However, PLA is brittle, which significantly limit its industrial packaging applications. Blending PLA and other polymers serve as one of the alternative techniques to improve the toughness of PLA. Blends preparations can be done by melt-compounding using the extrusion technique, which is popular for industrial applications. Blending PLA with equally bio-friendly polymers is preferred to avoid tampering with the degradation rate of PLA. In this study, poly[(butylene succinate) co-adipate] (PBSA) has been investigated as a secondary polymer to improve the flexibility of PLA. Extrusion grades of PLA and PBSA were melt-blended using a twin screw extruder to prepare the PLA/PBSA blends...
M.Tech. (Chemistry)