Influencing the material behavior of binary blends made of bioplastics for the formation of particle foams

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Christian Bonten; Professor Dr.-Ing. Holger Ruckdäschel
• Subject Area: Plastics Engineering
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 568252491

The bioplastics PLA and PHA are two bio-based and biodegradable polymers that have great potential to replace petroleum-based polymers and contribute to achieving the European climate targets by 2050. However, their successful use as polymeric materials presents a number of challenges that have a negative impact on plastics processing and the product properties that can be achieved. The formation of particle foams is particularly challenging. Polymers such as PLA and PHA are modified via plastics processing in order to specifically adjust processing and material properties. However, the current state of knowledge about the process-structure-property relationships and the development of properties by modifying these polymers, particularly in the form of binary blends, is incomplete. Different results of various studies with regard to miscibility can be cited here as examples. The use of a blend of PLA and PHA as a foam is unique to date and could offer a material solution for the transportation and construction sector in terms of sustainability due to its high insulation and specific mechanical properties. However, this still requires a far-reaching understanding of the complex relationships in the property development of blends through modification and their foaming behavior. The aim of the proposed research project is to investigate the process-structure-property relationships of binary blends of PLA and PHA and to use the abstracted, acquired understanding for the production of particle foams. Here, the range of properties for particle foam processing is to be specifically expanded and improved by means of a suitable surface-active modification via melt processing in the compounder. In addition to a material characterization, the compounds produced are also to be investigated with regard to their foaming behaviour. The complex relationships between the various influences on the properties of the blend and the foaming behavior are to be described using a material model, which is to be expanded using machine learning.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants