Open Access

ARTICLE

Isolation of Microcrystalline Cellulose from Wood and Fabrication of Polylactic Acid (PLA) Based Green Biocomposites

by Selwin Maria Sekar¹, Rajini Nagarajan^1,*, Ponsuriyaprakash Selvakumar², Ismail Sikiru Oluwarotimi³, Kumar Krishnan⁴, Faruq Mohammad⁵, Mohammed Rafi Shaik⁵, Nadir Ayrilmis^6,*

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, 626126, India
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, SSM Institute of Engineering and Technology, Dindigul, 624002, India
3 Department of Engineering, Centre for Engineering Research, School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, AL10 9AB, UK
4 INTI International University, Persiaran Perdana BBN, Nilai, 71800, Malaysia
5 Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
6 Department of Wood Mechanics and Technology, Faculty of Forestry, Istanbul University–Cerrahpasa, Bahcekoy, Sariyer, Istanbul, 34473, Turkey

* Corresponding Authors: Rajini Nagarajan. Email: ; Nadir Ayrilmis. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Environmentally Friendly Wood-Based Composites Based on Sustainable Technologies and Renewable Materials)

Journal of Renewable Materials 2024, 12(8), 1455-1474. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2024.052952

Received 19 April 2024; Accepted 05 July 2024; Issue published 06 September 2024

Abstract

An innovative microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) natural fibre powder-reinforced PLA biocomposite was investigated using the hand lay-up technique. The polymer matrix composite (PMC) samples were prepared by varying the weight percentages (wt.%) of both PLA matrix and MCC reinforcement: pure PLA/100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50 wt.%, respectively. From the results obtained, MCC powder, with its impressive aspect ratio, proved to be an ideal reinforcement for the PLA, exhibiting exceptional mechanical properties. It was evident that the 80:20 wt.% biocomposite sample exhibited the maximum improvement in the tensile, flexural, notched impact, compressive strength and hardness by 28.85%, 20.00%, 91.66%, 21.53% and 35.82%, respectively compared to the pure PLA sample. Similarly, during the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the same 80:20 wt.% biocomposite sample showed a minimum weight loss of 20% at 400°C, among others. The morphological study using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) revealed that the uniform distribution of cellulose reinforcement in the PLA matrix actively improved the mechanical properties of the biocomposites, especially the optimal 80:20 wt.% sample. Importantly, it was evident that the optimal PLA/cellulose biocomposite sample could be a suitable and alternative sustainable, environmentally friendly and biodegradable material for semi/structural applications, replacing synthetic and traditional components.

---

Keywords

---