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Environmental awareness of the global waste problem has driven the development of new green composites made from either renewable or biodegradable materials. Among the variety of available green composites, natural composites based on poly-lactic acid (PLA) have shown noteworthy performance due to their short degradation time after disposal, good strength, and ease of processing by conventional methods. In particular, green composites manufactured with PLA matrix reinforced with Manicaria Saccifera fabric (MF) display mechanical properties that have shown to be very competitive compared with similar materials. In this study, the tensile properties of a green composite of PLA reinforced with MF are optimized by using a Taguchi method approach. The processing parameters, fabric chemical treatment parameters, compression molding parameters, and fiber content are analyzed simultaneously to yield the optimum biocomposite properties. The predicted optimum parameters are experimentally verified. Tensile tests and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis are used. Significant improvements on both the tensile strength (114.2%), and the elastic modulus (120.6%) of the biocomposite are achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over recent years, enthusiasm towards the manufacturing of biopolymers has attracted considerable attention due to the rising concern about depleting resources and worsening pollution. Among the biopolymers available in the world, polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the highest biopolymers produced globally and thus, making it suitable for product commercialisation. Therefore, the effectiveness of natural fibre reinforced PLA composite as an alternative material to substitute the non-renewable petroleum-based materials has been examined by researchers. The type of fibre used in fibre/matrix adhesion is very important because it influences the biocomposites' mechanical properties. Besides that, an outline of the present circumstance of natural fibre-reinforced PLA 3D printing, as well as its functions in 4D printing for applications of stimuli-responsive polymers were also discussed. This research paper aims to present the development and conducted studies on PLA-based natural fibre bio-composites over the last decade. This work reviews recent PLA-derived bio-composite research related to PLA synthesis and biodegradation, its properties, processes, challenges and prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The compound of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and cellulose was made by the emulsion-solvent evaporation technique in order to obtain spheres which are then compression molded to produce a biocomposite film. The effect of the dispersant (poly(vinyl alcohol)—PVA)/PLA ratio on the spheres yield was studied. Moreover, to evaluate the effect of cellulose particle size and surface chemistry on the process yield, unbleached eucalypt kraft pulp and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), both unmodified and physically or chemically modified were used. PLA/cellulose spheres were characterized regarding its physical properties. It was found that the spheres yield is essentially determined by the PVA/PLA ratio and the percentage of cellulose incorporation is greatly affected by the surface chemistry of cellulose. Regarding the films, DSC runs showed a significant effect of the cellulose type incorporated into PLA matrix on the cold crystallization temperature and on the degree of crystallinity of the biocomposite films. The measurement of tensile properties of the biocomposite films revealed that the strength, elongation at break and toughness (tensile energy absorption at break) of the films incorporating unmodified and chemically modified MCC were substantially improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]