U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Plant Polymer Research: Peoria, IL
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    NCAUR HomepageSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Midwest Area Peoria, Illinois National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research Plant Polymer Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Finkenstadt, Victoriaitem
                                            Liu, Cheng Kungitem
                                            Evangelista, Roqueitem
                                            Liu, Linshuitem
                                            Cermak, Steven

                                                         - *Steve*item
                                            Hojilla-Evangelista, Milagros

                                                         - *Mila*item
                                            Willett, Julious
  Submitted to: Industrial Crops and Products
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 4/13/2007
                                    Publication  Date: 7/1/2007
                                    Citation: Finkenstadt, V.L., Liu, C., Evangelista, R.L., Liu, L.S., Cermak, S.C., Hojillaevangelist, M.P., Willett, J.L. 2007. Poly(lactic acid) green composites using oilseed coproducts as fillers. Industrial Crops and Products. 26(1):36-43.Interpretive Summary: This work characterized a novel green composite from alternate oilseed coproducts and poly(lactic acid) fabricated by twin-screw extrusion and injection molding.  The composites showed similar mechanical properties to some conventional polymer composites, and are biodegradable and competitive in cost with comparable non-sustainable petroleum based products currently in the marketplace.  The manuscript also discusses several technical issues such as the effect of the filler/matrix ratio on the structural and mechanical properties of resultant composites and provides useful information for the studies of other natural fiber-reinforced biobased polymer composites.  The current study presents a new way to utilize agricultural by-products for the future profitability of the agriculture industry.
                                Technical Abstract: Poly(lactic acid), PLA, is a biodegradable polymer made from renewable resources with similar mechanical properties to polypropylene.  PLA is more expensive than petroleum-based plastics, and the use of low-cost fillers as extenders is desirable.  Agricultural co-products of the alternative oilseed crops, cuphea(C), lesquerella(L) and milkweed(M), were collected after the oil was recovered.  PLA and various levels of coproduct (0-45% w/w) were compounded by twin-screw extrusion and injection molded.  As coproduct content increased, tensile strength for all PLA composites decreased consistent with the Nicolais-Narkis model.  PLA-C exhibited increased stiffness.  In contrast, the modulus of PLA-M & PLA-L decreased slightly.  Unexpectedly, PLA-M showed extensive stress-cracking under tensile stress and exhibited an elongation value 50% to 200% greater than the PLA control.  Acoustic emission showed ductile behavior of the PLA-M composite.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov