Biocomposites from poly (butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) biodegradable plastic and hop natural fiber: Studies on the effect of compatibilizer on performance of the composites

The overall performance of natural fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites is mostly correlated to the fiber-plastic adhesion. Herein, the interfacial adhesion of hop natural fiber (Humulus lupulus) and poly (butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) (PBSA) bioplastic coupled with an in situ synthesized maleic anhydride grafted PBSA compatibilizer (MA-g-PBSA) was investigated. The fiber was produced by attrition-milling while forced through a mesh of 1 mm and used at 30 weight percent (wt.%) ratio. The developed fiber-matrix adhesion of the coupled biocomposites was confirmed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and supported by mechanical tests. With the use of 5 wt.% MA-g-PBSA, the tensile strength of the biocomposites was comparable to the neat PBSA. But overall, the tensile, flexural, and impact strengths of compatibilized biocomposites improved respectively 45, 16, and 19 % when compared to those uncompatiblized biocomposites. The flexural modulus and the heat deflection temperature were affected by the fiber loading and barely by the coupling agent.