Batch foaming of chain extended PLA with supercritical CO2: Influence of the rheological properties and the process parameters on the cellular structure

This study has been dedicated to the foaming of modified poly (lactic acid) with supercritical CO2. The first part of this work consisted in a rheological modification of neat PLA through chain extension. Improvement of the melt viscosity and elasticity has been achieved by the use of an epoxy additive during a reactive extrusion process. Rheological characterizations confirmed an increase of the melt strength due to this chain extension process. Foaming was then performed on the neat and modified PLAs using a batch process with supercritical CO2 as blowing agent. The investigation of the foaming temperature revealed an enlarged processing window for modified PLAs compared to neat PLA. Depending on the foaming parameters, foams with a cellular structure ranging from macro scale to micro scale have been obtained. A concomitant effect of the CO2-plasticization and the crystallisation on the melt rheology could explain this wide range of cellular morphologies.

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► Increasing of the PLA melt strength thanks to chain extension.
► Increase of melt strength and crystallinity leading to a finer cellular structure.
► Temperature increase leads to cells collapsing except if strain hardening counterbalances.
► Cellular structure governed by the crystallinity that plays a strain hardener role.