In order to reduce the white pollution caused by nondegradable waste plastic packaging materials, the biomass cushion packaging material with straw fiber and starch as the main raw materials had been synthesized. The orthogonal experiment was used to study the impact of mass ratio of fiber to starch, content of plasticizer, active agent, and foaming agent on the compressive strength of cushion material. Infrared spectrometer and theory of water’s bridge-connection were used to study the hydroxyl groups among the fiber and starch. The results were demonstrated as follows: the mass ratio of fiber to starch had the most significant impact on compressive strength. When the contents of the plasticizer, the foaming agent, and the active agent were, respectively, 12%, 0.1%, and 0.3% and the mass ratio of fiber to starch was 2？:？5, the compressive strength was the best up to 0.94？MPa. Meanwhile, with the plasticizer content and the mass ratio of fiber to starch increasing, the cushioning coefficient of the material decreased first and then increased. Comparing the cushion and rebound performance of this material with others, the biomass cushion packaging material could be an ideal substitute of plastic packaging materials such as EPS and EPE. 1. Introduction At present, the cushion packaging products widely used are mainly made from foamed plastic, corrugated cardboard, honeycomb paper, paper pulp molding, and so forth. As the plastic packaging waste is nonrecyclable and nondegradable, it has caused serious white pollution and heavy pressure on the environment. Though the corrugated cardboard, the honeycomb paper, and the paper pulp molding materials are biodegradable, their raw material is mainly wood, which consumes too much limited forest resources in China. And also, water pollution is caused in the manufacturing process, as well as higher manufacturing cost. Therefore, these kinds of material could not be ideal alternatives for plastic packaging materials. The biomass cushion packaging products are prepared through a special process, using plant fiber (straw fiber, bagasse fiber, etc.) and starch as the main raw material and plasticizer and foaming agent as the additives. This kind of material is generally regarded as eco-friendly because of its “green characters,” such as wide sources of raw material, simple preparation process, low cost, and no environmental pollution in the full life cycle. Nowadays, this material has become a research hotpot all over the world. In the early process of this new subject, considerable studies have been performed on
References
[1]
M. O. Rutiaga, L. J. Galan, L. H. Morales et al., “Mechanical property and biodegradability of cast films prepared from blends of oppositely charged biopolymers,” Journal of Polymers and the Environment, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 185–191, 2005.
[2]
J. Shey, S. H. Imam, G. M. Glenn, and W. J. Orts, “Properties of baked starch foam with natural rubber latex,” Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 34–40, 2006.
[3]
P. Cinelli, E. Chiellini, J. W. Lawton, and S. H. Imam, “Properties of injection molded composites containing corn fiber and poly(vinyl alcohol),” Journal of Polymer Research, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 107–113, 2006.
[4]
C. N. Ludvik, G. M. Glenn, A. P. Klamczynski, and D. F. Wood, “Cellulose fiber/bentonite clay/biodegradable thermoplastic composites,” Journal of Polymers and the Environment, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 251–257, 2007.
[5]
J. Shey, S. H. Imam, G. M. Glenn, and W. J. Orts, “Properties of baked starch foam with natural rubber latex,” Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 34–40, 2006.
[6]
P. Cinelli, E. Chiellini, J. W. Lawton, and S. H. Imam, “Foamed articles based on potato starch, corn fibers and poly(vinyl alcohol),” Polymer Degradation and Stability, vol. 91, no. 5, pp. 1147–1155, 2006.
[7]
M. A. Sawpan, K. L. Pickering, and A. Fernyhough, “Effect of fibre treatments on interfacial shear strength of hemp fibre reinforced polylactide and unsaturated polyester composites,” Composites A, vol. 42, no. 9, pp. 1189–1196, 2011.
[8]
B. K. Goriparthi, K. N. S. Suman, and N. M. Rao, “Effect of fiber surface treatments on mechanical and abrasive wear performance of polylactide/ jute composites,” Composites A, vol. 43, no. 10, pp. 1800–1808, 2012.
[9]
T. Kunanopparat, P. Menut, M.-H. Morel, and S. Guilbert, “Reinforcement of plasticized wheat gluten with natural fibers: from mechanical improvement to deplasticizing effect,” Composites A, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 777–785, 2008.
[10]
X. L. Song and J. Wu, “The influence of plasticizer on the performance of natural plant fibre foaming buffering materials,” Packaging Engineering, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 42–44, 2005.
[11]
X. J. Jia, J. F. Li, and F. Y. Li, “Biomass biodegradable food boxes and hot temperature field of structural optimization,” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Advances in Materials and Manufacturing Processes (ICAMMP '10), Shenzhen, China, 2011.
[12]
M. F. Rosa, B.-S. Chiou, E. S. Medeiros et al., “Effect of fiber treatments on tensile and thermal properties of starch/ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymers/coir biocomposites,” Bioresource Technology, vol. 100, no. 21, pp. 5196–5202, 2009.
[13]
H. N. Lu, X. J. Jia, J. F. Li, F.-Y. Li, X. Wang, and J.-Y. Li, “Thermal analysis and optimization of mould for fully biodegradable dishware,” Die & Mould Industry, vol. 3, pp. 45–49, 2010.
[14]
A. F. Guo, “Research on key technologies of fully-degradable packing materials,” Tech. Rep., Shandong University, 2011.
[15]
G. Liu, “Research on optimization technology for simulation model of biodegradable production line,” Tech. Rep., Shandong University, 2010.
[16]
G. Anfu, L. Jianfeng, L. Fangyi, and Y. Yong, “Design of the full biodegradable and single-use dishware mold based on automatic ejection technology,” in Proceedings of the 16th IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment (ISEE '08), pp. 456–457, May 2008.
[17]
A.-F. Guo, J.-F. Li, F.-Y. Li, and B.-K. Wei, “Study on the biodegradagility of plant fiber and starch dishware,” Journal of Functional Materials, vol. 40, no. 11, pp. 1929–1932, 2009.
[18]
A. F. Guo, H. Lu, J. Li et al., “Mechanical property simulation and verification of plant fiber and starch dishware,” Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering, vol. 26, no. 7, pp. 91–95, 2010.
[19]
G. Li, F. Y. Li, K. K. Guan, P. Liu, Y. Lv, and J. F. Li, “Preparation and properties of biomass cushion packaging material,” Journal of Function Materials, vol. 2, no. 13, pp. 79–85, 2013.
[20]
M. X. Zheng, L. Q. Li, M. Y. Zheng, et al., “Effect of Alkali pretreatment on cellulosic structural changes of corn stover,” Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 35, no. 26, pp. 27–31, 2012.
