Mechanical and morphological properties of LDPE/ PHB blends filled with castor oil pressed cake

Blends of PHB and LDPE were prepared by melt mixing in a twin screw extruder. Castor oil cake (CC) was used as filler for the blends. The design of experiments (DOE) technique was used to evaluate the effect of the components proportion on the materials properties. The mechanical properties and morphology of the materials were evaluated. The LDPE Young's modulus increases but the other tensile properties and impact resistance deteriorate with the addition of PHB or CC. The tensile strength values of binary mixtures of LDPE lie in the range from 8.9 to 10 MPa. As some commercial grades of LDPE ...