Influence of biochar and flame retardant on mechanical, thermal, and flammability properties of wheat gluten composites

Abstract

The use of environmentally friendly materials such as bio-sourced plastics is being driven by increased awareness of environmental issues caused by synthetic plastics. However, bio-sourced plastics have poor fire behaviour that limits their application. The addition of a flame retardant to these plastics is one effective way to increase the fire resistance property; however, the flame retardant should not interfere with the mechanical performance of the plastic. Most flame retardants act as stress concentration points, reducing tensile strength. Hence, to create a balance between tensile strength and fire resistance, biochar (to conserve strength) and lanosol (to improve fire resistance) were added to wheat gluten bioplastic in various ratios and the optimal ratio was identified. Wheat gluten composites were fabricated using compression moulding at four different concentrations of lanosol (2, 4, 6, and 8 wt.%) and biochar (2, 4, 6, and 8 wt.%). From the test results, the composite with 4 wt.% lanosol and 6 wt.% biochar exhibited a good balance between the mechanical and fire properties; it conserved the strength and improved the fire properties (39 % reduction in peak heat release rate).

Keywords

• Biochar
• Wheat gluten
• Fire
• Mechanical test