Preparation and characterisation of polymer composites with bloodmeal

[摘要] This research focuses on the fabrication of composites produced by the combination of BM(bloodmeal) with HOPE (high-density polyethylene). HOPE was chosen because it is amongstthe most widely used synthetic plastic material worldwide, thus a study of improving thedegradability of these materials can be regarded as worthwhile. HOPE was combined with driedBM. The BM was blended with the polymers using mechanical mixing at 150 °C andsubsequent melt-pressing at the same temperature into films of different thicknesses. Themorphology, thermal and mechanical properties, and water absorption were investi gated usingmoisture analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TOA),optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR)spectroscopy, and tensile testing before and after periods of underground ageing. Moistureanalysis revealed that the addition of BM to HOPE moderately increased the moisture contentof the composites. Morphological investigations showed good dispersion of BM in thepolyethylene matrix, but the effects of ageing were not highly evident. DSC results indicatedthat the presence of BM did not significantly influence the crystallization behaviour of HOPEsince the melting temperatures and melting enthalpies varied only slightly for each composition.The mechanical properties for BM composites for all ageing times showed similar trends, suchas a large initial increase in modulus for I% BM added. The modulus decreased slightly as theBM content increased. Overall, the mechanical properties remained relatively constant withunderground ageing time. In conclusion, it seems as if the presence of BM in HOPE had aninfluence on the mechanical properties and water absorption behaviour of the composites, butdid not observably accelerate the underground environmental degradation of this polymer overperiods as long as 36 weeks.

[发布机构] University of the Free State