Morphological, Mechanical and Thermal Characteristics of PLA /Cocos nucifera L Husk and PLA/Zea mays Chaff Lignin Fibre Mats Composites

Polylactide (PLA) is a biodegradable polymer with low elongation which limits its use in some applications. The incorporation of biowaste particles has been employed to improve its properties. This work thus examines the impact of lignin particles reinforced on electrospun PLA fibre mats. Acid hydrolysis (1M of HCl at 60 and 100 0C for 2 and 4 h was used to extract lignin from Cocos nucifera L (CNHL) and Zea Mays Chaff (CCL). Lignin particles were added to molten PLA, stirred, and electrospun at 26 kV, using a static aluminum collector plate placed at 121mm from the spinneret tip. Morphological examination reveals that fibre diameter of neat PLA (9.7 µm) increased from 107 – 285 % with the additions of reinforcements. Maximum tensile strength of 1.03 MPa is recorded for PLA/CNHL 60 0C /2 h. This composite maintains the highest elongation of 0.069 % compared to neat PLA (0.046 %). X-Ray diffractometer (XRD) result informs that the crystallinity of neat PLA (67.6 %) improves by 3%, with the use of CNHL 60 0C/ 2 h. Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) result shows that both fibre composites possess better thermal stability (380 0C) compared to reinforcing PLA fibre (3190 C)