Modification of Poly(lactic acid) with Orange Peel Powder as Biodegradable Composite

Traditional fossil-based plastic usage and disposal has been one of the largest environmental concerns due to its non-biodegradable nature and high energy consumption during the manufacturing process. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as a renewable polymer derived from natural sources with properties comparable to classical plastics and low environmental cost has gained much attention as a safer alternative. Abundantly generated orange peel waste is rich in valuable components and there is still limited study on the potential uses of orange peel waste in reinforcing the PLA matrix. In this study, orange peel fine powder (OPP) synthesized from dried orange peel waste was added into PLA solution. PLA/OPP solutions at different OPP loadings, i.e., 0, 10, 20, 40, and 60 wt% were then casted out as thin films through solution casting method. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis has shown that the OPP is incorporated into the PLA matrix, with OH groups and C=C stretching from OPP can be observed in the spectra. Tensile test results have reviewed that the addition of OPP has decreased the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of PLA, but significantly improve the elongation at break by 49 to 737%. Water contact angle analysis shows that hydrophilic OPP has modified the surface hydrophobicity of PLA with a contact angle ranging from 70.12° to 88.18°, but higher loadings lead to decrease of surface energy. It is proven that addition of OPP improves the biodegradability of PLA, where PLA/60 wt% OPP composite shows the best biodegradation performance after 28 days with 60.43% weight loss. Lastly, all PLA/OPP composites have better absorption in alkaline solution.