Effective Tensile Energy Absorption of Chitosan-Poly Lactic Acid Composite using Injection Molding Process

Significant amount of plastic being used has a negative effect on environmental sustainability, and plastic that has been buried in the ground is challenging to break down. A natural material that degrades quickly is biodegradable plastic. Polylactic Acid (PLA) is the primary component that is frequently utilized in the development of biodegradable polymers; however, PLA has drawbacks in large-scale production, particularly its extremely brittle character. It is important to add filler to PLA in order to improve the material's qualities due to its low elongation and toughness values. In this work, PLA was blended with chitosan at percentages of 100%, 98%, 96%, 94%, 92%, and 90% to enhance the mechanical capabilities of PLA. For chitosan, they are 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%. Chitosan and PLA are combined in an extrusion process that melts PLA and yields filaments through the use of the extrusion process. The outputs of the extrusion process are used for injection molding, after which they are melted and printed into the desired shape. The best results are obtained at a proportion of 98% PLA and 2% chitosan so that the energy absorption becomes bigger, according to the findings of the mechanical properties tests that have been conducted. The material injected at a temperature of 200°C has tighter holes than the material injected at a temperature of 175°C, as demonstrated by the microstructure test.