Degradation of a mechanically recycled polylactide/halloysite nanocomposite in an ethanolic food simulant

[EN] This work aims to study the effect of immersion in a ethanolic food simulant in mechanically recycled poly(lactic acid) (PLAR) and its nanocomposites reinforced with halloysite nanotubes (HNT). PLAR was obtained by subjecting PLA to an accelerated ageing process, which includes photochemical, thermal and hydrothermal ageing steps, followed by a final demanding washing step. PLAR was further reinforced with 4 %wt. HNT to improve the properties of the PLAR films. The materials were melt compounded by melt extrusion and processed into films by compression molding. The resulting films were exposed to food simulant D1 (50 %vol. ethanol solution) for 10 days at 40 °C. The intrinsic viscosity, crystallization behavior, thermal stability as well as the mechanical performance were analyzed before and after the contact with the food simulant. The swelling, plasticizing and hydrolyzing effect of the food simulant led to an important decrease of the intrinsic viscosity of all the samples, along with a significant increase of the crystallinity. Thermal stability was negatively affected by the decrease of the molecular weight, while the high crystallinity values resulted in materials with higher Vickers hardness values after the immersion in the food simulant. This work was supported by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program [grant agreement No. 860407 BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE], by MINECO-Spain [project CTM2017-88989-P] as well as Universidad Politécnica de Madrid [project UPM RP 160543006]. Beltrán, FR.; Arrieta, MP.; Hortal, Y.; Gaspar, G.; De La Orden, MU.; Martínez Urreaga, J. (2021). Degradation of a mechanically recycled polylactide/halloysite nanocomposite in an ethanolic food simulant. Journal of Applied Research in Technology & Engineering. 2(2):63-70. https://doi.org/10.4995/jarte.2021.15297 Agüero, A., Morcillo, D.M., Quiles-Carrillo, L., Balart, R., Boronat, T., Lascano, D., & Fenollar, O. (2019). Study of the influence of the reprocessing cycles on the final properties of polylactide pieces obtained by injection molding. Polymers, 11(12), 1908. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11121908 Arrieta, M.P., Castro-López, M., Rayón, E., Barral-Losada, L., López-Vilariño, J.M., López, J., & González-Rodríguez, M.V. (2014). Plasticized poly(lactic acid)-Poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PLA-PHB) blends incorporated with catechin intended for active food-packaging applications. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 62(41), 10170-10180. https://doi.org/10