Solid-state shear pulverization (SSSP) is a continuous process that consists of a modified twin-screw melt extruder which achieves excellent dispersion in polymer of fillers and nanofillers that cannot be well dispersed in polymer by conventional melt processing. By operating at relatively low temperature in the solid state, SSSP avoids problems associated with poor thermal stability of some biobased fillers and the inability to do sufficient work (via shear stresses, compressive forces, etc.) to deagglomerate and disperse nanofiller using melt processing. Here, we will overview several years of studies in which a varity of problematic biobased fillers and nanofillers were well-dispersed in polyolefins (e.g., polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene), sometimes leading to the largest property enhancements for such polymer-biobased filler composites reported in the literature. For example, effective dispersion of 10 wt% unmodified cellulose nanocrystal in low density polyethylene (LDPE) leads to a ~70% increase in Young's modulus relative to neat LDPE. The LDPE/CNC composites also exhibit superior creep performance with modest increment in yield strength compared to neat polymer and retain elongation at break values equal to that of neat polymer. Comparable enhancements in properties of polymer composites made with biobased but waste materials, including lignin, waste paper, agro-waste, rice husk ash, and eggeshell, are also observed when the composites are made by SSSP.

Excellent dispersion and property enhancements in polymer composites made with biobased filler from cellulose nanocrytals and waste paper to lignin and agro-waste to rice husk ash and eggshell

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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