Analysis, Development, and Scaling-Up of Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) Biocomposites with Hazelnuts Shell Powder (HSP)

Aliotta, Laura; Vannozzi, Alessandro; Bonacchi, Daniele; Coltelli, Maria-Beatrice; Lazzeri, Andrea

doi:10.3390/polym13234080

Open AccessArticle

Analysis, Development, and Scaling-Up of Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) Biocomposites with Hazelnuts Shell Powder (HSP)

by

Laura Aliotta

^1,2,*

,

Alessandro Vannozzi

^1,2,

Daniele Bonacchi

³,

Maria-Beatrice Coltelli

^1,2,*

and

Andrea Lazzeri

^1,2

¹

Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, Pisa University, 56122 Pisa, Italy

²

National Interuniversity Consortium of Material Science and Technology (INSTM), 50121 Florence, Italy

³

Arianna Fibers s.r.l, 51100 Pistoia, Italy

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Polymers 2021, 13(23), 4080; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13234080

Submission received: 3 November 2021 / Revised: 17 November 2021 / Accepted: 21 November 2021 / Published: 24 November 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biobased Polymers for Environmental Applications)

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Abstract

In this work, two different typologies of hazelnuts shell powders (HSPs) having different granulometric distributions were melt-compounded into poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix. Different HSPs concentration (from 20 up to 40 wt.%) were investigated with the aim to obtain final biocomposites with a high filler quantity, acceptable mechanical properties, and good melt fluidity in order to be processable. For the best composition, the scale-up in a semi-industrial extruder was then explored. Good results were achieved for the scaled-up composites; in fact, thanks to the extruder venting system, the residual moisture is efficiently removed, guaranteeing to the final composites improved mechanical and melt fluidity properties, when compared to the lab-scaled composites. Analytical models were also adopted to predict the trend of mechanical properties (in particular, tensile strength), also considering the effect of HSPs sizes and the role of the interfacial adhesion between the fillers and the matrix.

Keywords: biocomposites; natural fibers; poly(lactic acid) (PLA); extrusion compounding

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MDPI and ACS Style

Aliotta, L.; Vannozzi, A.; Bonacchi, D.; Coltelli, M.-B.; Lazzeri, A. Analysis, Development, and Scaling-Up of Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) Biocomposites with Hazelnuts Shell Powder (HSP). Polymers 2021, 13, 4080. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13234080

AMA Style

Aliotta L, Vannozzi A, Bonacchi D, Coltelli M-B, Lazzeri A. Analysis, Development, and Scaling-Up of Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) Biocomposites with Hazelnuts Shell Powder (HSP). Polymers. 2021; 13(23):4080. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13234080

Chicago/Turabian Style

Aliotta, Laura, Alessandro Vannozzi, Daniele Bonacchi, Maria-Beatrice Coltelli, and Andrea Lazzeri. 2021. "Analysis, Development, and Scaling-Up of Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) Biocomposites with Hazelnuts Shell Powder (HSP)" Polymers 13, no. 23: 4080. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13234080

APA Style

Aliotta, L., Vannozzi, A., Bonacchi, D., Coltelli, M.-B., & Lazzeri, A. (2021). Analysis, Development, and Scaling-Up of Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) Biocomposites with Hazelnuts Shell Powder (HSP). Polymers, 13(23), 4080. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13234080

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Analysis, Development, and Scaling-Up of Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) Biocomposites with Hazelnuts Shell Powder (HSP)

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