Influence of Compounding Methods on Rheology and Morphology of Linear Low Density Polyethylene/Poly Lactic Acid

Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE)/poly lactic acid (PLA) blends were prepared via different melt mixing methods. The effects of various blend compositions and two mixing methods on morphological and rheological behavior of the blends were studied. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to investigate morphology behavior of the blends. The rheological studies illustrated that all samples presented shear thinning behavior and the PLA-rich blends exhibited a Newtonian region. It was found from the rheological measurements that the LLDPE/PLA (75/25 w/w) prepared by batch mixer exhibited higher values of storage modulus and complex viscosity, which is in agreement with the morphology results. In addition, using the different mixing methods, significant differences in the morphological results for the LLDPE/PLA (50/50 w/w) blend were observed. Finally, the results showed that the blends prepared by batch mixer exhibited better morphology, higher storage modulus, and complex viscosity.