Effect of Different Compatibilizers on Sustainable Composites Based on a PHBV/PBAT Matrix Filled with Coffee Silverskin

Fabrizio Sarasini; Francesca Luzi; Franco Dominici; Gianluca Maffei; Annalaura Iannone; Antonio Zuorro; Roberto Lavecchia; Luigi Torre; Alfredo Carbonell-Verdu; Rafael Balart; Debora Puglia

doi:10.3390/polym10111256

Effect of Different Compatibilizers on Sustainable Composites Based on a PHBV/PBAT Matrix Filled with Coffee Silverskin

Polymers (Basel). 2018 Nov 12;10(11):1256. doi: 10.3390/polym10111256.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering Materials Environment, Sapienza-Università di Roma, 00184 Rome, Italy. fabrizio.sarasini@uniroma1.it.
² Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Perugia, UdR INSTM, Strada di Pentima 4, 05100 Terni, Italy. francesca.luzi85@gmail.com.
³ Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Perugia, UdR INSTM, Strada di Pentima 4, 05100 Terni, Italy. francodominici1@gmail.com.
⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering Materials Environment, Sapienza-Università di Roma, 00184 Rome, Italy. gianluca.maffei@uniroma1.it.
⁵ Department of Chemical Engineering Materials Environment, Sapienza-Università di Roma, 00184 Rome, Italy. annalaura.iannone@uniroma1.it.
⁶ Department of Chemical Engineering Materials Environment, Sapienza-Università di Roma, 00184 Rome, Italy. antonio.zuorro@uniroma1.it.
⁷ Department of Chemical Engineering Materials Environment, Sapienza-Università di Roma, 00184 Rome, Italy. roberto.lavecchia@uniroma1.it.
⁸ Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Perugia, UdR INSTM, Strada di Pentima 4, 05100 Terni, Italy. luigi.torre@unipg.it.
⁹ Technological Institute of Materials (ITM), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Plaza Ferrándiz y Carbonell 1, 03801 Alicante, Spain. alcarve1@epsa.upv.es.
¹⁰ Technological Institute of Materials (ITM), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Plaza Ferrándiz y Carbonell 1, 03801 Alicante, Spain. rbalart@mcm.upv.es.
¹¹ Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Perugia, UdR INSTM, Strada di Pentima 4, 05100 Terni, Italy. debora.puglia@unipg.it.

Abstract

This work investigates the feasibility of using coffee silverskin (CSS), one of the most abundant coffee waste products, as a reinforcing agent in biopolymer-based composites. The effect of using two compatibilizers, a maleinized linseed oil (MLO) and a traditional silane (APTES, (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane), on mechanical and thermal behavior of sustainable composites based on a poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate/Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) PBAT/PHBV blend filled with coffee silverskin, in both the as-received state and after the extraction of antioxidants, was studied. Thermal (by differential scanning calorimetry), mechanical (by tensile testing), and morphological properties (by scanning electron microscopy) of injection molded biocomposites at three different weight contents (10, 20, and 30 wt %) were considered and discussed as a function of compatibilizer type. The effects of extraction procedure and silane treatment on surface properties of CSS were investigated by infrared spectroscopy. Obtained results confirmed that extracted CSS and silane-treated CSS provided the best combination of resistance properties and ductility, while MLO provided a limited compatibilization effect with CSS, due to the reduced amount of hydroxyl groups on CSS after extraction, suggesting that the effects of silane modification were more significant than the introduction of plasticizing agent.

Keywords: biodegradable composites; coffee silverskin; plasticizers; poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate); poly(butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate; recycling; silane; sustainable development.