High Fiber Content in Starch-Based Composites: Revisiting Phase Roles and Material Characteristics
Résumé
Starch-based composite films have gained attention as sustainable alternatives to synthetic polymers. 1,2 In this study, unbleached softwood kraft pulp was mixed with starch-glycerol solutions to investigate fibers' impact on the rheological properties of suspensions and mechanical properties of the resulting films. We particularly focused on high fiber content which strongly exceeded the overlap concentration. Two sets of formulations were analyzed: (i) varying pulp concentrations (1-5 wt%) with constant starch content and (ii) varying starch concentrations (1-5 wt%) with fixed pulp content (2 and 5 wt%). Suspension viscoelastic properties and film integrity were strongly influenced by the pulp-to starch ratio. The tensile strength first increased with increasing pulp content up to a certain threshold, beyond which further fiber addition led to a decline in mechanical performance. This study aims to unveil and optimize the balance between starch and pulp concentrations to enhance the properties of biobased films.
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