| dc.description.abstract | Biobased fillers in thermoplastics have seen increased usage over the last several years. The increased usage of biobased fillers follows the ever-increasing thrust to reduce petroleum and synthetic petrochemical product consumption. Biocomposites made from polyolefin matrices have shown improved elastic moduli with moderate impact on strength. For engineering thermoplastics, the increased processing temperatures lead to degradation of the biomass, often detrimental for the mechanical performance. The goal of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural byproducts as fillers in polyamides, while minimizing the effects of increased processing temperatures. Torrefaction has been identified as an effective means of preparing biomass for introduction into polyamide. Polyamide biocomposites were produced and shown to have comparable mechanical properties to the neat matrix. Torrefied biomass was shown to produce tensile strengths within 70% of the neat matrix, increase elastic modulus by 150%, flexural strength by 170%, and flexural modulus by 154%. | en_US |
