Cassava bagasse is an abundant material that can be used for
making TPS at a lower cost than TPS from cassava starch.
TPS made from cassava bagasse had similar tensile strength but higher modulus
and lower elongation to break compared to TPS made from
cassava starch.
TPS can be blended with PLA to reduce cost even
though tensile strength and modulus decrease.
PLA/TPSB blends had similar tensile strength but higher modulus and lower elongation
to break compared PLA/TPSI blends.
Although the PLA/TPS
blends are largely immiscible, the microscopy and thermal analysis
indicate a low level of interaction between the components.
The fibers most likely act as a filler in the PLA matrix since there
was no significant increase in tensile strength in PLA/TPSB blends.
The results indicate that different cassava starch or cassava bagasse
based materials can be obtained with specific properties and may
provide a valuable, low cost, renewable feedstock for TPS and PLA
blends or for other applications