Enhanced performance and reprocessability in polypropylene-lignin blends through plasma treatment
In this work, a new compatibilization strategy for polypropylene-lignin blends was presented, which did not rely on the use of solvents or other chemicals. Soda lignin was subjected to plasma treatment in an argon atmosphere employing a gliding-arc-tornado reactor configuration. The effect of this p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S236996982500012X |
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| author | Emanuela Bellinetto Sofia Regoli Ruggero Barni Carmen Canevali Oussama Boumezgane Luca Zoia Claudia Riccardi Stefano Turri Gianmarco Griffini |
| author_facet | Emanuela Bellinetto Sofia Regoli Ruggero Barni Carmen Canevali Oussama Boumezgane Luca Zoia Claudia Riccardi Stefano Turri Gianmarco Griffini |
| author_sort | Emanuela Bellinetto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this work, a new compatibilization strategy for polypropylene-lignin blends was presented, which did not rely on the use of solvents or other chemicals. Soda lignin was subjected to plasma treatment in an argon atmosphere employing a gliding-arc-tornado reactor configuration. The effect of this process was evaluated using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis, evidencing significant chemical-structural modifications in lignin, including an increased concentration of phenoxy radicals (60%) and depletion of hydroxyl functionalities (35%). Polypropylene-lignin blends incorporating 5% (w/w), 10% (w/w), and 20% (w/w) of either pristine or plasma-treated lignin were then prepared by melt-blending in a twin-screw extruder, and their thermo-mechanical and rheological properties were investigated in detail. As a result of the plasma-induced modifications occurred in lignin, blends incorporating the plasma-treated material exhibited greater thermo-oxidative stability, more favorable viscoelastic response, significantly improved mechanical performance (137% and 294% strain at break for polypropylene (PP) containing 5% (w/w) and 10% (w/w) of treated lignin, respectively), and enhanced thermo-mechanical reprocessability (> 95% retention of yield strength and strain at break after re-extrusion). This work provided the first demonstration of the effectiveness of plasma treatment as a viable and sustainable strategy to improve filler-matrix interactions in polypropylene-lignin blends without the use of solvents, chemical compatibilizers or additional wet-chemistry steps, paving the way for the development of lignin-based thermoplastic polyolefin materials with enhanced thermo-mechanical characteristics and improved reprocessability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e15fddd6f16743849f413297fb28a33e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2369-9698 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts |
| spelling | doaj-art-e15fddd6f16743849f413297fb28a33e2025-08-20T03:11:52ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts2369-96982025-05-0110217018610.1016/j.jobab.2025.01.003Enhanced performance and reprocessability in polypropylene-lignin blends through plasma treatmentEmanuela Bellinetto0Sofia Regoli1Ruggero Barni2Carmen Canevali3Oussama Boumezgane4Luca Zoia5Claudia Riccardi6Stefano Turri7Gianmarco Griffini8Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Milano 20133, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Milano 20133, ItalyDepartment of Physics ''Giuseppe Occhialini'', Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milano 20126, ItalyDepartment of Materials Science, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milano 20125, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Milano 20133, ItalyDepartment of Earth and Environmental Science, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milano 20126, ItalyDepartment of Physics ''Giuseppe Occhialini'', Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milano 20126, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Milano 20133, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Milano 20133, Italy; Corresponding author.In this work, a new compatibilization strategy for polypropylene-lignin blends was presented, which did not rely on the use of solvents or other chemicals. Soda lignin was subjected to plasma treatment in an argon atmosphere employing a gliding-arc-tornado reactor configuration. The effect of this process was evaluated using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis, evidencing significant chemical-structural modifications in lignin, including an increased concentration of phenoxy radicals (60%) and depletion of hydroxyl functionalities (35%). Polypropylene-lignin blends incorporating 5% (w/w), 10% (w/w), and 20% (w/w) of either pristine or plasma-treated lignin were then prepared by melt-blending in a twin-screw extruder, and their thermo-mechanical and rheological properties were investigated in detail. As a result of the plasma-induced modifications occurred in lignin, blends incorporating the plasma-treated material exhibited greater thermo-oxidative stability, more favorable viscoelastic response, significantly improved mechanical performance (137% and 294% strain at break for polypropylene (PP) containing 5% (w/w) and 10% (w/w) of treated lignin, respectively), and enhanced thermo-mechanical reprocessability (> 95% retention of yield strength and strain at break after re-extrusion). This work provided the first demonstration of the effectiveness of plasma treatment as a viable and sustainable strategy to improve filler-matrix interactions in polypropylene-lignin blends without the use of solvents, chemical compatibilizers or additional wet-chemistry steps, paving the way for the development of lignin-based thermoplastic polyolefin materials with enhanced thermo-mechanical characteristics and improved reprocessability.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S236996982500012XLigninPolypropylenePlasmaGliding arc tornadoCompatibilization |
| spellingShingle | Emanuela Bellinetto Sofia Regoli Ruggero Barni Carmen Canevali Oussama Boumezgane Luca Zoia Claudia Riccardi Stefano Turri Gianmarco Griffini Enhanced performance and reprocessability in polypropylene-lignin blends through plasma treatment Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts Lignin Polypropylene Plasma Gliding arc tornado Compatibilization |
| title | Enhanced performance and reprocessability in polypropylene-lignin blends through plasma treatment |
| title_full | Enhanced performance and reprocessability in polypropylene-lignin blends through plasma treatment |
| title_fullStr | Enhanced performance and reprocessability in polypropylene-lignin blends through plasma treatment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhanced performance and reprocessability in polypropylene-lignin blends through plasma treatment |
| title_short | Enhanced performance and reprocessability in polypropylene-lignin blends through plasma treatment |
| title_sort | enhanced performance and reprocessability in polypropylene lignin blends through plasma treatment |
| topic | Lignin Polypropylene Plasma Gliding arc tornado Compatibilization |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S236996982500012X |
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