Agricultural by-product filled poly(lactic acid) biocomposites with enhanced biodegradability: The effect of flax seed meal and rapeseed straw

The purpose of this research was to develop “green” materials by combining poly(lactic acid) (PLA) with two agricultural by-products, namely flax seed meal (FSM) and rapeseed straw (RSS). The natural fillers (0–20 wt.%) were mixed with PLA through extrusion and then injection molded into specimens. The samples were analyzed for their thermal, morphological, mechanical, and physical features and biodegradability. Thermal properties and crystallinity were analyzed using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), while the morphology was investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Mechanical properties were characterized through tensile, flexural, and impact measurements, while surface hardness was evaluated by Shore D tests. Water absorption and biodegradability of the samples were also examined. DSC measurements revealed a nucleating effect of both bio-fillers. Based on the tensile tests, major improvement in stiffness was found with the biocomposites having up to ∼16 % higher Young's modulus than neat PLA (2.5 GPa). It came, however, at the cost of tensile strength, which decreased from 56 to 51 MPa even in the presence of the lowest amount (2.5 wt.%) of FSM. Loss in strength was due to the limited adhesion between the components, as also supported by SEM images. The hardness slightly (1–2 %) improved in the presence of even 2.5 wt.% bio-filler and it remained at that level at higher filler loading as well. Laboratory-scale composting revealed that both fillers facilitated biodegradation with FSM being superior. In the presence of 10–20 wt.% FSM, the rate of decomposition was found to be twice as fast compared to neat PLA.