COMPOSTING BEHAVIOUR OF NATURAL FIBER REINFORCED THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES

Abstract

In the present research work, degradation behaviour of bio-composites incorporating banana fibers in poly-lactic acid matrix has been studied. The bio-composites were developed using extrusion-injection molding process. The effect of fiber incorporation on the mechanical and degradation behaviour of the composites was studied. The biocomposites were exposed to different environments (farmland soil, cow manure and organic compost) for biodegradability analysis. The degradation behaviour was analysed in terms of variation in weight and mechanical properties of the exposed specimens. Mechanical properties were examined in terms of tensile strength, modulus and flexural strength and modulus. The mechanical properties of neat PLA and composites exposed to different environment decreases over time in all the environments. The degradation in mechanical properties of the composites was found to be maximum in the soil followed by cow manure and organic compost. This degradation in mechanical properties was also verified using morphological analysis