Premium
Bio‐based blends from poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐ co ‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) and natural rubber for packaging applications
Author(s) -
Zhao Xiaoying,
Venoor Varun,
Koelling Kurt,
Cornish Katrina,
Vodovotz Yael
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.47334
Subject(s) - natural rubber , materials science , toughness , composite material , plastics extrusion , reactive extrusion , extrusion , bioplastic , polymer blend , ultimate tensile strength , thermal stability , polymer , chemical engineering , copolymer , engineering , ecology , biology
Poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐ co ‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) is a promising bioplastic but has limited packaging applications due to its brittleness and poor processability. Incorporation of highly viscous high‐molecular‐weight natural rubber (HMW‐NR, gel extracted from NR) into PHBV can improve these properties. HMW‐NR is not commercially available, impeding commercialization of the PHBV/rubber blends. Therefore, an organic peroxide was used to selectively crosslink NR to increase its viscosity during its melt blending with PHBV. The PHBV/NR blends were fabricated through a two‐step extrusion process using a twin‐screw extruder. The blends contained two phases with crosslinked rubber being dispersed in PHBV, and had clear rubber loading‐dependent differences in performance. The thermal stability and melt strength of the blends were enhanced over pristine PHBV, indicating improved processability. The flexibility and toughness of the blends were improved by 59 and 20%, respectively, compared with pristine PHBV, and were comparable to commercial petroleum‐based plastics. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136 , 47334.