Papermaking from waste silk and its application as reinforcement of green composite

Abstract

In order to recycle the waste silk resource effectively, the biodegradable composite consisting of PBS matrix and pure silk paper was prepared by hot compression molding. Beating treatment was adopted to modify silk fibroin and enhance the composite, and the corresponding mechanical properties and morphologies were studied in detail. The results showed that beating treatment could realize the fibrillation of fibroin and improve the tensile strength of silk paper, and proper beating treatment to fibroin could also improve the mechanical properties of silk paper reinforced PBS composite. The tensile, flexural and impact resistance properties of this green composite were improved remarkably with increasing fiber content within 40 wt%. Especially the impact resistance was remarkably improved 154% at 40 wt% fiber content compared with PBS control. © 2010 The Textile Machinery Society of Japan.