Polyethylene/Bacterial-Cellulose Biocomposite Synthesized via In Situ Polymerization with Zirconocene/MMAO Catalyst

Authors

  • Natthadabhorn Thanarattanasap Chulalongkorn University
  • Praonapa Tumawong Chulalongkorn University
  • Thipprapa Sinsawat Chulalongkorn University
  • Ekrachan Chaichana Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University
  • Bunjerd Jongsomjit Chulalongkorn University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4186/ej.2019.23.3.15

Abstract

In this study, the polyethylene filled celluloses regarded as biocomposites was produced via in situ polymerization with zirconocene/MMAO catalyst. Three types of celluloses including microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), bacterial cellulose prepared from pineapple shell extract (BCP), and bacterial cellulose prepared from coconut (BCC) were used as fillers and also catalytic support in the polymerization system. It was found that the presence of cellulose fillers slightly decreased catalytic activity of the polymerization system, but it was still higher compared with that of other natural fillers such as coir dust. This is caused by the lower impurity of cellulose. The MCC provided the highest catalytic activity among all cellulose fillers. The obtained biocomposites were characterized with different techniques including scanning electron microscope (SEM) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). It was observed that all obtained biocomposites exhibited good morphology compared with the neat polyethylene. Thermal stability of the polymers was improved with the cellulose fillers.

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Author Biographies

Natthadabhorn Thanarattanasap

Center of Excellence on Catalysis and Catalytic Reaction Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, ChulalongkornUniversity, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Praonapa Tumawong

Center of Excellence on Catalysis and Catalytic Reaction Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, ChulalongkornUniversity, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Thipprapa Sinsawat

Center of Excellence on Catalysis and Catalytic Reaction Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, ChulalongkornUniversity, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Ekrachan Chaichana

Research Center of Natural Materials and Products, Chemistry Program, Faculty of Science and Technology, Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University, Muang, Nakhon Pathom 73000, Thailand

Bunjerd Jongsomjit

Center of Excellence on Catalysis and Catalytic Reaction Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, ChulalongkornUniversity, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

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Published In
Vol 23 No 3, May 31, 2019
How to Cite
[1]
N. Thanarattanasap, P. Tumawong, T. Sinsawat, E. Chaichana, and B. Jongsomjit, “Polyethylene/Bacterial-Cellulose Biocomposite Synthesized via In Situ Polymerization with Zirconocene/MMAO Catalyst”, Eng. J., vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 15-28, May 2019.

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