Synthesis of Nano-Bio Composite for Light Weight Structural Application

Abstract

Bio composite materials has brought other possibilities to the manufacturing industry rather than synthetic materials. Biodegradable polymer materials such as PolyLactid Acid (PLA) have attracted various industry attention for numerous applications due to its excellent properties such as tensile strength, while has been some weaknesses. However, their amalgamation with different weight percentage of Micro Crystalline Cellulose (MCC) (0, 3, 6, and 9%) and Montmorillonite (MMT) Nano clay (0, 3, 6, and 9%) as a reinforcing agent and Sorbitol (S) (10, 20, 30 and 40%) as plasticizers to improve its properties fabricated at various Temperature (T) (100,125,150, and 175⁰C) using melt-mixing method, and examined at different testing standards and optimized to gain optimal experimental setup. This study prepared 16 bio composite samples through Taguchi’s orthogonal array experimental design. The optimal factor level combination were investigated for flexural strength (FS) at 3% MCC and 9% MTT fillers, and 20% S plasticizer and at 175⁰C T (3%MCC, 9%MTT, 20%S and 175⁰C) at these levels of FS is 96.5 MPa, flexural modulus (FM) (6%MCC, 9%MTT, 20%S and 175⁰C) at these control factors FS is 9.8 GPa, tensile strength (TS) (9%MCC, 9%MTT, 10%S and 175⁰C) at these levels of TS is 85.2 MPa, young´s modulus (YM) (6%MCC, 9%MTT, 0%S and 150⁰C) at these experimental run YM is 4.22 GPa, water absorption (WA) (0%MCC, 0%MTT, 0%S and 150⁰C) at these experimental run WA is 2.42% and density (D) (9%MCC, 9%MTT, 30%S and 175⁰C) at this experimental setup D is 0.0427g/mm³. A general multiple linear model was established for each result prediction. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for regression model shows that the statistical significance of the regression model and the significances of the factors that affect each responses. The addition of fillers and plasticizer significantly improves the properties of PLA material and developed bio composite material is expected to utilize for lightweight load carrying applications in structural and biomedical areas.

Keywords: Bio composite, Polylactid Acid, Micro Crystalline Cellulose, Montmorillonite, Sorbitol