EXCHANGE Volume 01, No. 1, 2023, pp. 08-22

Huaqing DING, Tao JIANG

Development and Performance Optimization of A Low-Carbon Environment Friendly Bio-Based Material

Abstract: Global warming and environmental deterioration are common problems faced by human beings at present. Therefore, environmental protection and sustainable development have become the mainstream of development in the world today. Greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of global warming (Sun et al,2013), while 80% of the world’s energy demand is still supplied by traditional fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas (Woolf et al,2010). In order to reduce the use of fossil fuels, we developed a new 3D printing material made of biochar and polylactic acid, which is expected to replace traditional petroleum-based materials in various fields. The purpose of this study is to improve the properties of materials by adding PBAT and modified biochar, and to evaluate the life cycle of composites.

We prepared the above composite materials and characterized them by SEM, FTIR and mechanical tests. The experimental results show that the addition of PBAT can increase the amount of biochar in the composite by 50%, increase the hardness of the material by 0.4%, and increase the tensile modulus by 69.12%; Sample S3 has the maximum bending strength of 61.89 MPa. Electron microscopy and functional group analysis showed that PBAT/PLA was well embedded and bound in biochar. This indicates that PBAT can increase the amount of biochar added to the composite and improve the interfacial compatibility of the composite.

Silane coupling agents can graft onto biochar, enhancing the polarity of biochar and reducing its water absorption by 50.32%; Modified biochar was applied to the composite, and functional group analysis showed that the characteristic peaks of silane coupling agent grafted biochar existed in the composite. The hardness of the composite material increased by 0.13%, the tensile strength increased by 9.83%, and the bending strength increased by 34.97%. The addition of PBAT reduced the total environmental impact potential value of the composite by 23.32%, and the modification process of biochar reduced it by 12.87%.

Keywords: Biochar; polylactic acid; PBAT; KH570; 3D printing; composite material; LCA.