(612f) Fully Biodegradable and Biorenewable Ternary Blends From Polylactide, Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) and Poly(butylene succinate) with Balanced Properties

With the aim of developing novel bioplastic from renewable resource with excellent balance of performances, a fully biodegradable and biorenewable ternary blends from Polylactide, Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) and Poly(butylene succinate) were firstly fabricated by melt-blending method in this work. The thermal behavior, mechanical properties, and thermal resistance of the blends were investigated. The ternary blends exhibited unique synergistic mechanical properties which are not seen in either of the homopolymers or their binary blends. Mechanical analysis revealed that dispersions of PHBV and PBS minor phases improve remarkably the flexibility and impact strength with reducing the elastic modulus of the PLA matrix slightly. More interestingly, a good balance of stiffness and toughness was attained for PHBV/PLA/PBS ternary blends with PHBV as matrix. The thermal resistance of PLA was improved by the addition of PHBV and PBS. The blends with PHBV as matrix showed more good thermal resistance than that of PLA matrix blends. Enhancement in crystallization of PLA and PBS was achieved by incorporating PHBV phases, whereas the crystallization of PHBV in the blends was suppressed by PBS and PLA. At the same time, perspectives of interesting phase morphology and its relationship to the properties were also discussed.

The authors thank Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) New Directions & Alternative Renewable Fuels Research program (Project SR9235) and New Directions Research Program (Project SR9211) for the financial support to carry out this research work.