Development of injection applications of polypropylene/thermoplastic starch polymer blends

Current research studies focus on the supply of environmentally friendly materials with the aim of solving the problems posed by petroleum derived materials. Starch is a promising biopolymer for producing biocomposite materials as it is renewable, fully biodegradable and readily available at low cost. Thermoplastic starch (TPS) by itself exhibits poor mechanical properties such as low tensile strength and severe deformations, limiting its application in packaging or films. In addition, TPS offers high hygroscopicity. The use of reinforcements in the starch matrix is an effective way to overcome these disadvantages. Polypropylene biodegradable supplements have been used to develop new and inexpensive polymer blends.Thermoplastic starch (TPS) has emerged as a viable alternative to synthetic polymers used in packaging. Although starch is not a real thermoplastic polymer, it can be treated by combining it with water and/or other plasticizers. Polypropylene-based polymer blends were created to improve the mechanical qualities of TPS. Different compatibilizers were tested to see how they affected the mechanical properties of the polymer blends. It was determined that the mechanical qualities of thermoplastic starch-polypropylene blends deteriorated as the quantity of thermoplastic starch increased, and that samples with acceptable mechanical performance could be created by introducing various compatibilizers. Keywords: Polypropylene, Thermoplastic starch, Packaging, Compatibilizer, Mechanical properties