Effect of the cooling conditions and the presence of sisal fiber on the crystallization of PCL / starch molded part

R.A. RUSECKAITE; P.M. STEFANI; V.P. CYRAS; A. VAZQUEZ

Mar del Plata

Congreso; COMAT2001; 2001

INTEMA

Novel polymers and blends are being introduced, with the aim of fulfilling, new environmental requirements regarding the effective management of post consumer waste. Among all the starch-biodegradable polymer blends, polycaprolactone/ starch blends are receiving increasing industrial attention for use as commodity plastics particularly because of their biodegradablility and the possibility of using the same transformation technologies applied to traditional plastics with minor modifications. However, the current price of such materials limits their use to a few exclusive applications One approach economically and ecologically attractive to overcoming these limitations is to incorporate natural fibers into biodegradable polymers to obtain environmentally friendly composite materials. In addition to an expected improvement of mechanical properties the incorporation of reinforcing short fibers in crystallizable thermoplastic polymers can significantly influence the crystallization rate. The degree of crystallinity and morphology developed in the matrix may be significantly influenced by the rate at which the part is cooled from the melt and by the presence of the fibers, which can act as nucleating agent . Also transcrystallinity is more or less important depending of the kind of the fiber. The aim of this work is to predict the degree of crystalliny and temperature profiles developed trough the thickness of a part of caprolactone/starch matrix reinforced with sisal fiber as a function of the cooling conditions