Properties and Biodegradation of Poly(lactic Acid)/Thermoplastic Alginate Biocomposites Prepared via a Melt Blending Technique

In this work, poly(L-lactic acid)/thermoplastic alginate (PLA/TPA) biocomposites were prepared through a melt blending method. The TPA was initially prepared using glycerol as a plasticizer. The effects of TPA content on the interactions between blend components, thermal properties, phase morphology, mechanical properties, hydrophilicity, and biodegradation properties of biocomposites were systematically investigated. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis corroborated the interaction between the blend components. The addition of TPA enhanced the nucleating effect for PLA, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed poor phase compatibility between the PLA and TPA phases. The thermal stability and mechanical properties of the biocomposites decreased with the addition of TPA, as demonstrated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and tensile tests, respectively. The hydrophilicity and soil burial degradation rate of biocomposites increased significantly as the TPA content increased. These results indicated that PLA/TPA biocomposites degraded faster than pure PLA, making them suitable for single-use packaging, but this necessitates careful optimization of TPA content to balance mechanical properties and soil burial degradation rate for practical single-use applications.