Manufacturing and compatibilization of binary blends of superheated steam treated jute and poly (lactic acid) biocomposites by melt-blending technique

Md Abdul Alim; Md Moniruzzaman; Md Muzaher Hossain; Wahiduzzaman; Md Reazuddin Repon; Ismail Hossain; Mohammad Abdul Jalil

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09923

Manufacturing and compatibilization of binary blends of superheated steam treated jute and poly (lactic acid) biocomposites by melt-blending technique

Heliyon. 2022 Jul 13;8(8):e09923. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09923. eCollection 2022 Aug.

Authors

Md Abdul Alim¹, Md Moniruzzaman¹, Md Muzaher Hossain¹, Wahiduzzaman¹, Md Reazuddin Repon^{2

3

4}, Ismail Hossain¹, Mohammad Abdul Jalil¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Textile Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Khulna 9203, Bangladesh.
² ZR Research Institute for Advanced Materials, Sherpur 2100, Bangladesh.
³ Department of Textile Engineering, Khwaja Yunus Ali University, Sirajganj 6751, Bangladesh.
⁴ Department of Production Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Design, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentų 56, LT-51424 Kaunas, Lithuania.

Abstract

This work investigated the effect of superheated steam (SHS) jute fiber and poly (lactic acid) (PLA) having a weight proportion of 30:70 which were synthesized using the melt blending method. The goal of this treatment was to boost up the fiber-polymer interfacial linkage. The action was conducted in a superheated steam oven at various times (30-120 min) and temperatures (170-220 °C). The biocomposites were assessed in terms of mechanical characteristics, dimensional stability and morphological properties. Compared to different treatment temperatures, the results showed that treatment at 210 °C for 60 min offered the best tensile characteristics. Because of the presence of SHS-Jute, the tensile, impact, bending and dimensional stability of the bio-composites have been improved. The FTIR and SEM study revealed progress in the interfacial linkage between SHS-Jute and PLA. This interfacial link improves the bending strength of SHS-Jute-PLA biocomposites by about 15.64%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigation also showed an elevation in the crystalline structure with the incorporation of SHS-Jute. The degradation tests of the biocomposite were carried out in deionized water. SHS treatment reduces hemicellulose contents in jute fiber which causes water uptake% reduction is 54% in SHS-Jute-PLA. The SHS-Jute-PLA biocomposite appeared with promising characteristics for utilization as a green and ecological substitute particle board material.

Keywords: Biocomposite; Jute fiber; Poly (lactic acid); Superheated steam; Swelling.