Carbon fiber reinforced PLA composites

Wan Y Z, Wang Y L, Xu X H, Li Q Y (2001b), /n vitro degradation behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced PLA composites and influence of interfacial adhesion strength , J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 82, 150-158. 

Natural fiber-reinforced PLA composites are attractive because both the reinforcement (natural fiber) and matrix (PLA) are obtained from renewable resources. Natural fibers are considered as environment friendly alternatives to conventional reinforcing fibers such as glass, carbon, aramid, and so on. Natural fibers can be subdivided into three categories plant (cotton, jute, flax, hemp, etc.), animal (wool, silk, etc.), and mineral fibers (asbestos, inorganic whiskers, etc.). Generally, plant fibers are more popularly used as natural fiber reinforcements. Of these fibers, the most used are flax, jute, sisal, ramie, hemp, kenaf, and cotton. Plant fibers can generally be classified as nonwood (vegetable fibers) and wood fibers [20]. 

The use of traditional composites made by glass, aramid, or carbon fiber-reinforced plastics has recently been discussed critically because of increasing environmental consciousness [8]. Thus, the recent research and development (R D) efforts have led to new products based on natural resources. Some of these are biodegradable polymers like PLA, cellulose esters, polyhydroxyalkan-otes (PHAs), and starch polymers. Furthermore, natural fiber-reinforced plastics made of natural fibers like flax, hemp, kenaf, jute, and cotton fibers are important R D achievements. Composites made of natural fibers and biopolymers... 

Product O is a fiber reinforced composite with the composition 30% biofiber (cellulose fiber) + 70% PLA (biobased material). The biobased content of Product O is 100% — all the carbon in the product comes from bioresources. 

On the other hand, natural fiber (NF), which uses plant materials and fixes CO2 similarly to the PLA resin, has attracted attention as a reinforcement fiber that can substitute the conventional glass fiber (GF). It is for this reason that compounding an NF and PLA resin does not deviate from the carbon-neutral concept Jute fiber, kenaf fiber, and bamboo fiber (BF) are examples of NFs. An example of the use of a composite material with PLA resin reinforcement with the kenaf fiber for automobile parts is shown in Figure 5.2 [2-8]. If the technology for obtaining nudear fuel from ethanol and manufacturing automobile parts from PLA resin in considerable quantities takes off successfully, it is expected that this will enable the construction of a sustainable society. 

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