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BIOPLASTICS | TECHNOLOGY


Right: The ORNL team, led by Amit Naskar, at work


around 100°C but which do not require the parts to be crystallised either by annealing in the mould or in a post-moulding operation (this is typically a requirement to reach such performance with PLA compounds), enabling injection moulding with reduced cycle times (Figure 3).


Options in PHA Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are offered by several suppliers and volumes are on the rise. One major innovator in the field, Bio-on, has in recent months announced a series of initiatives involving its technology that will take its Minerv PHAs – which include polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) – into areas well beyond traditional plastics processing, including slow-release capsules for fertilisers, micro-powders for cosmetics, fashion products, and even electron- ics. It is also developing new ways to make PHAs, extending potential raw materials beyond biomass to cooking oils and carbon dioxide.


Making use of biomass waste


Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have created a recipe for a renewable 3D printing feedstock they hope could spur a profitable use for the biorefinery by-product lignin. In the journal Science Advances, a research team led by Amit Naskar explain how they combined a melt-sta- ble hardwood lignin with a low-melting conven- tional polyamide and carbon fibre to create a composite suitable for Fused Filament Fabrica- tion (FFF) 3D print technology. Lignin natural polymers char easily and





prolonged exposure to heat dramatically increases viscosity, making it difficult to extrude them during the FFF process. However, when the ORNL researchers combined the melt-stable hardwood lignin with a polyamide they found that the composite’s room temperature stiffness increased while its melt viscosity decreased. The material displayed a tensile strength similar to the pure polyamide and a lower viscosity than the conventional ABS often used in FFF. Analysis of the composite’s molecular


structure indicated that the combination of lignin and PA “appeared to have almost a lubrication or plasticising effect on the compos- ite,” says Naskar. The ORNL team were able to mix in a high


Figure 3: Crystallinity of PLA/PBS blends increases rapidly when PBS content exceeds 20%. Above a PBS content of 60% the HDT increases to almost 100°C Source: PTT MCC Biochem


28 COMPOUNDING WORLD | September 2019


percentage of lignin — 40 to 50% by weight – and added 4-16% carbon fibre. The new composite heats up easily, flows faster for speedier printing, and results in a stronger final part structure. Work is ongoing to refine the material and find other ways to process it. � www.ornl.gov


www.compoundingworld.com


PHOTO: ORNL


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