Recycled PLA – Wood flour based biocomposites: Effect of wood flour surface modification, PLA recycling, and maleation

[Display omitted] •The recycling of PLA, after one-process, had substantial effect on the overall crystallinity.•The addition of wood, even in small inclusions (2.5 wt%), had substantially improved the PLA crystallinity.•Modification of wood fiber with DDSA had pronounced effects on the WPC’s water absorption properties.•Substitution of pristine wood to DDSA-modified wood has no effect on mechanical properties.•Synergistic effects of maleated-PLA and DDSA-modified wood further enhanced WPCs water-resistant properties. This study investigated the effects of simulated recycling of PLA and Maleated PLA using thermo-mechanical processes on its structure and physico-chemical properties and combined with pristine and modified wood flour (WF) for biocomposites. The WF modification entails a base catalyzed reaction of dodecenylsuccinic anhydride to effectively reduce its polarity and enhance the system’s compatibility. Recycling of PLA had a profound effect on PLA’s crystallinity and modulus. The addition of WF had significantly affected PLA’s crystallinity and moduli of the fabricated biocomposites. The modifiedsamples had superior water repellent and dimensional stability capabilities of the wood-plastic composites.