The influence of bio-fibers from different pulping processes on the pulp-polylactic acid composites (PPCs) properties from sugarcane bagasse

Pulp-polylactic acid composites (PPCs) with monoethanolamine, alkaline sulfite-anthraquinone, unbleached and bleached soda bagasse pulps and polylactic acid (PLA) were successfully fabricated using twin-screw extrusion. The results were compared with bagasse flour-PLA composites (WPCs) as reference. The results indicated that the mechanical strengths of produced composites with pulp fibers were increased compared to the neat PLA and bagasse flour-PLA composites. Monoethanolamine and alkaline sulfite-anthraquinone fibers due to their surface chemical structure had a superior compatibility with PLA compared with other used bio-fibers which has been confirmed by SEM micrographs too. FTIR was used to investigate the effect of different chemical treatments on the bio-fibers. The results of XRD analysis showed that the crystallinity of PPCs was substantially improved by incorporation with pulp fibers compared to WPCs composites. The water absorption of the PPCs is different due to using the diverse bio-fibers. According to DMA analysis, the tan delta was substantially decreased when PLA was reinforced by different bio-fibers. The biodegradation of green composites were characterized and the results showed that the biodegradability of the PLA was increased due to addition of bagasse pulp biofibers.