Development of a biocomposite based on green polyethylene biopolymer and eggshell

• New environmentally friendly composites from natural sources (bioPE + eggshell).
• Calcium carbonate from eggshell enlarges the manufacturing temperature range of PE.
• Titanate as coupling agent improves processability and filler-matrix interaction.
• In-depth study on thermal and mechanical properties explored.

In this investigation a fully biobased composite material has been obtained using a biobased polyethylene obtained from sugar cane as matrix and eggshell (ES) as filler. ES was studied in order to replace mineral carbonate calcium as polymer filler, which is commonly used. In order to do this the ES has been chemically modified and then its potential for the development of a biocomposite was evaluated. The filler adhesion to the polymer matrix has been improved using titanate particle treatment which has been chosen between silane and zirconate. The use of titanate as coupling agent enlarges the range of operating temperatures and also improves the interfacial bonding as it is displayed in impact fracture surface. Mechanical, thermal and rheological analysis were carried out in order to analyze the effect of the modified ES loading percentage. Thermal analysis showed a proportional effect of the filler load over the degradation temperature and an inversely effect over the enthalpy. Effect of the modified ES content on mechanical properties of PE/ES was also studied. The results showed that the modified CaCO3 can effectively improve the mechanical properties of bioPE, improving stiffness, hardness, flexural and tensile modulus. The amount of filler increases the viscosity, this fact specially hinders the processing processes which work with low shear rates.

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