Bioplasitcizer epoxidized vegetable oils-based poly(lactic acid) blends and nanocomposites

Abstract

Growing environmental concerns related to the use of synthetic non-biodegradable polymer plastics have led to the need for new, especially bio-based materials. Biodegradable polymer poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has been proposed as a solution to the waste problems related to non- biodegradable polymer. PLA-based materials have many advantages over their non-biodegradable competitors, such as stiffness, transparency and recyclability. However, brittleness and poor barrier properties are the main challenges restricting their use, particular in the field of flexible films. Therefore, considerable efforts have been made to enhance the characteristics of the polymer by employing vegetable oil-based plasticizer. Vegetable oils are derived from plants and are chemically composed of different triacylglycerols, i.e., esters of glycerol and fatty acids. Vegetable oils are attractive raw materials for many industrial applications as they are derived from renewable resources, biodegradable, environmental friendly, easily available and produced in large quantities at a competitive cost. Example of vegetable oils that will be discussed in this chapter are palm oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil and jatropha oil. These vegetable oils are favorable because they are cheap, low in toxicity, and easily available as a sustainable agricultural resource. These composite materials have great potential as alternatives to the conventionally used polymer such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), as biodegradable or green biocomposites in various industries.