Relationships, thermoplastic starch polymers

This article provides a review of thermoplastic starch polymers [unlike polymers with added granular starch] including an introduction to biodegradable polymers and thermoplastic starch polymers a review of thermoplastic starch polymer development a review of reactive modification of thermoplastic starch, examining the structure-property relationships of thermoplastic starch and a review of commercial thermoplastic starch polymer applications. 

The morphology of commercial blends usually is far from equilibrium. Preparation of the alloys must take thermodynamic and kinetic parameters into account if the desired effects are to be achieved. The effects of copolymer addition on the dispersion size and blend performance have been studied (Hobbs et al. 1983 Fayt et al. 1986a Armat and Moet 1993 Alsewailem and Gupta 2002). The interface/ morphology relationship in polymer blends with thermoplastic starch has also been studied (Taguet et al 2009). 

Li G, Sarazin P, Favis BD. 2008. The Relationship between Starch Gelatinization and Morphology Control in Melt-Processed Polymer Blends with Thermoplastic Stoch. Macromol Chem Physic 209(10) 991-1002. Lichtenthaler FW. 2006. Biorefineries - Industrial Processes rmd Products. Status Quo rmd Future Directions. 

Irrespective of the plasticizer type and amount, melted TPSs exhibit non-Newtonian flow behavior typical of pseudo-plastic liquids. Increasing plasticizer content causes decreasing viscosity, as a result of which TPS materials flowing capacities increase. Thermoplastic starch shows a clear relationship between viscosity and temperature, also a well-known effect in the case of conventional polymers [8, 12, 26, 31, 32, 55]. 

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