Preparation of Microcrystalline Cellulose from Water Hyacinth Reinforced Polylactic Acid Biocomposite

In this work, we successfully mixed polylactic acid (PLA) with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) from water hyacinth. The MCC was prepared by treating water hyacinth fiber (WHF). Then hydrochloric acid was used to hydrolyze treated fiber to MCC. X-rays diffraction (XRD) showed that the MCC produced has 73.28 per cent crystallinity. Internal mixing was used to combine composites between MCC and PLA. Percentages of MCC were 1, 5, 10 and 15, respectively. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy indicated that the interaction between MCC and PLA are only mechanically interaction. Tensile testing of this composite (ASTM D638) revealed that tensile strength and percentage of elongation at break decreased but the increase of young's modulus. The morphological analysis was observed thru composites fractured surface by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). They showed a void between cellulosic fiber and PLA when high amount of MCC conformed with tensile results