THE USE OF SAWDUST AS FILLER IN THE MODIFICATION OF POLY(LACTIC ACID) BASED COMPOSITE WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR THE 3D PRINTING APPLICATIONS

Abstract

The paper presents the method for the production of the bio-composite material prepared from Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and wood sawdust. The bio-composites are produced by the twin-screw extrusion method. The influences of the wood sawdust content on the mechanical properties of the materials, including the impact strength, the tensile strength, Young's modulus, the flexural, flexural modulus, and microscopic observation are studied. The mechanical tests showed that the percent ratio of the wood sawdust effects significantly the mechanical properties of the wood plastic composites. The impact strength of the composite is the highest when the wood sawdust was added at 15 wt%. When the wood sawdust was added at 20 wt% and above, the modified PLA turned out to be more brittle with reductions of the tensile strength, the tensile modulus, and the tensile elongation at break. Furthermore, the flexural strength of the composites containing 20% ​​by weight of wood sawdust is 40% less than that of PLA. Microscopic observations show that composites containing less than 20% by weight of wood sawdust have an even distribution of wood sawdust particles in their structure. Finally, some sawdust particles were observed to agglomerate in composites containing more than 20% by weight of sawdust.