Simultaneous Nanofibrillation and Compounding of
Wood
Pulp
Fibers Using Polyols as Plasticizers:Fabricating High-Performance Cellulose-Nanofiber-Reinforced Polyethylene Composites
TON DUC THANG University
Simultaneous Nanofibrillation and Compounding of
Wood
Pulp
Fibers Using Polyols as Plasticizers:Fabricating High-Performance Cellulose-Nanofiber-Reinforced Polyethylene Composites
Author:
Sakakibara, Keita
;
Moriki, Yoshihito
;
Tsujii, Yoshinobu
Is Part Of:
Journal of Fiber Science and Technology, 2020/01/15, Vol.76(1), pp.23-31
Description:
As a reinforcing filler for polymer composite materials, cellulose nanofiber (CNF) is a promising alternative to conventional fillers from the viewpoints of its low cost, low density, biodegradability, high stiffness, and safety. A promising strategy for the preparation of CNF-reinforced polymer composite materials involves in-situ nanofibrillation, in which as-received
wood
pulp
fibers are nanofibrillated into CNFs during the melt-compounding process. To further streamline this process, in this study, we used low-molecular-weight polyols, such as glycerol and glucitol, as nanofibrillation-assisting plasticizers, since polyols are expected to migrate and plasticize into the spaces between cellulose microfibrils in
wood
cell walls and break down the
wood
pulp
fibers into CNFs. Never-dried needle-leaf bleached kraft
pulp
(NBKP), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and a diblock copolymer (BCP), were used as the CNF resource, polymer matrix, and dispersant,respectively. The isolated cellulose fibers produced by the in situ process had diameters of between 200 and 500 nm. Furthermore, under the optimized conditions, the prepared composite material exhibited superior mechanical properties, with a Youngʼs modulus and tensile strength of 3 GPa and 44 MPa, respectively, when produced with 10 wt% NBKP. These values correspond to a four-fold higher Youngʼs modulus and a two-fold higher tensile strength than neat HDPE. Finally, the plasticization effects of glucitol and urea are compared and discussed from the viewpoints of the mechanical properties against the degree of nanofibrillation. This study provides a potential approach for an industrial-scale process.
Publisher:
The Society of Fiber Science and Technology, Japan
Language:
English
Identifier:
ISSN: 2189-7654
EISSN: 2189-7654
DOI: 10.2115/fiberst.2020-0002
Source:
ROAD: Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources