Investigation of Film and Mechanical Properties of Poly(Lactic Acid)

World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
International Journal of Chemical and Molecular Engineering Vol:2, No:11, 2015
International Science Index Vol:2, No:11, 2015 waset.org/abstracts/33809
Investigation of Film and Mechanical Properties of Poly(Lactic Acid)
Authors : Reyhan Özdoğan, Özgür Ceylan, Mehmet Arif Kaya, Mithat Çelebi
Abstract : Food packaging is important for the food industry. Bioplastics have been used as food packaging materials.
According to the European Bioplastics organization, bioplastics can be defined as plastics based on renewable resources (biobased) or as plastics which are biodegradable and/or compostable. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has an industrially importance of
bioplastic polymers. PLA is a family of biodegradable thermoplastic polyester made from renewable resources. It is produced
by conversion of corn, or other carbohydrate sources, into dextrose, followed by fermentation into lactic acid through direct
polycondensation of lactic acid monomers or through ring-opening polymerization of lactide. The processing possibilities of this
transparent material are very wide, ranging from injection molding and extrusion over cast film extrusion to blow molding and
thermoforming. In this study, PLA films were prepared by solution casting method. PLAs which are different molecular weights
were plasticized with glycerol and the morphology of films was monitored by optical microscopy. Properties of mechanical and
film of PLA were researched with the mechanical testing machine.
Keywords : biodegradable, bioplastics, morphology, solution casting, poly(lactic acid)
Conference Title : ICPMSE 2015 : 18th International Conference on Polymer Materials Science and Engineering
Conference Location : Venice, Italy
Conference Dates : November 09-10, 2015
International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 2(11) 2015
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