Recycling possibilities of bioplastics based on PLA/PHB blends

Abstract

The study is focused on modelling the evaluation of recyclability of the biodegradable blend using multiple extrusion of selected composition of PLA/PHB blend which had been more deeply studied before. It was shown that the multiple extrusion reduces viscosity of the tested blend due to multiple thermomechanical stresses and the material was partially degraded. Partial degradation was demonstrated by measuring of molecular characteristics. The degree of degradation of the tested material was determined with relatively high accuracy after creating a colour space/viscosity. Multiple processing and subsequent degradation of the tested material did not negatively affect thermal properties, as well as strength characteristics of the blend. It was concluded that the biodegradable polymer blend of the PLA/PHB type is suitable for multiple processing and material recycling can be applied for this type of bioplastics.