Effect Of Blend Composition On Foaming Behavior Of Biobased PLA-PHBY Blends

Abstract: The demand of biobased as well as biodegradable polymers is rising. The currently most used biodegradable polymer -PLA - is suffering from low melt strength and its low crystallization rate. Within this study Polylactide has been blended with poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate (PHBV) in order to improve the foaming behavior of PLA. The blend ratio was varied between 100:0 (PLA:PHBV) and 60:40 by weight. The compounds have been investigated regarding their sorption behavior, their thermal and their rheological properties. Finally, the materials were foamed in a custom-made high-pressure autoclave. The resulting foams were characterized by their density and by SEM. It was found that adding PHBV leads to a higher overall crystallinity and a higher modulus. Consequently, lower foam densities were achieved with increasing content of PHBV.

Biography: M.Sc. Christian Brütting has been working as a research assistant at the Chair of Polymeric Materials in the Polymer Foams Group since June 2018. Since October 2020, he has taken over as head of the Polymer Foams Group.

From 2012 to 2015, Christian Brütting studied mechanical engineering (B. Eng.) at the dual University of Applied Sciences Baden Württemberg Mosbach. In his subsequent Master's degree (M. Sc.) in "Materials Science and Engineering" at the University of Bayreuth, he focused on lightweight construction and polymer materials.