Title:Biocomposites from Starch-based Biopolymer and Rape Fibers. Part I: Interfacial Analysis and Intrinsic Properties of Rape Fibers
VOLUME: 17 ISSUE: 15
Author(s):Eva Espigule, Fabiola Vilaseca, Xavier Puigvert, Nour-Eddine El Mansouri, Francesc-Xavier Espinach, Narcis Verdaguer and Pere Mutje
Affiliation:LEPAMAP Group, Laboratory of Paper Technology and Plastic Materials, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Girona, C/ M. Aurelia Capmnay nº 61, 17071 Girona, Spain.
Keywords:Rape fibers, Starch biopolymer, Biocomposite, Intrinsic tensile properties, Interface.
Abstract:In this work, bio-based products from starch biopolymer and rape biomass were produced. The physicochemical properties at
interface of the biodegradable composites were analyzed and the intrinsic tensile strength of the rape fibers was determined from biocomposites
containing up to 40 wt% of starch substitution.
Rape thermomechanical fibers showed potential to undergo efficient fiber/fiber joints, and this was evidenced by their aptitude to paper
production and to reinforce biopolymers such as thermoplastic starch. The high yield thermomechanical process brought rape fibers rich
in lignin at the fiber surface, and this helped to fiber individualization and dispersion into the matrix. The surface characteristics of rape
fibers allowed anchoring to the starch matrix, by means of Van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding. The quality of the
rape/starch interface was analyzed in this study, and values for the interfacial shear strength ( τ ) and the intrinsic strength of rape fibers (σtF) were evaluated.
