Tailoring PBAT/PLA/Babassu films for suitability of agriculture mulch application

Abstract

Babassu was studied as a vegetable filler in a blend consisting of polybutyrate adipate terephthalate and polylactic acid aiming at preparation of bio-based and biodegradable films by solvent casting. The morphology, thermal, and mechanical properties were investigated with optical, thermoanalytical, and spectroscopic methods and correlated with the sample setup. Although only laboratory scale for film production has been applied in this work, the results suggest that the composite PBAT/PLA with 10% Babassu may be a suitable material for the application as agricultural mulch films. Such Babassu-based films would be environmentally friendly and cost-effective at the same time.

Keywords

• pbat/pla
• babassu
• bio-based
• bio-filled mulch films
• solvent casting
• biopolymer
• biodegradability