Preparation of Poly(Lactic Acid) and Poly(Trimethylene Terephthalate) Blend Fibers for Textile Application

Biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) blend fibers were prepared in this study. PLA and PTT were blended in a twin screw extruder with varied contents of PTT 0-50 wt%.The PLA/PTT blend were melt spun into fiber by melt spinning technique. Thermal properties and crystallization behavior of PLA/PTT blends were investigated. PLA fiber was glossy and transparent while PTT fiber was opaque. The spinning of PLA/PTT blends fiber was difficult due to the difference in melting characteristic of PLA and PTT. However, the PLA/PTT blend fiber was successfully spun at PTT content of 10 wt% with the barrel temperature of 250 C and would be suitable for textile application.