ARS | Publication request: BLENDS OF VARIOUS PROTEINS WITH POLY(HYDROXY ESTER ETHER)

Submitted to: Society of Plastics Engineers Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: May 10, 2001
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Blends of poly (hydroxy ester ether) (PHEE), a recently developed bisphenol A ether-based synthetic biodegradable thermoplastic polymer, with a soybean protein isolate and two hydrolyzed wheat glutens were studied. Blends of the proteins with PHEE were produced from 20-70% by weight of protein content. The Young's moduli of the protein/PHEE blends falls in the range of 0.8-1.5 GPa with the tensile strengths ranging from 10-30 MPa. Fracture strengths of the blends ranged from 9-2 MPa-m**1/2 depending on the amount of protein added. Morphological analysis indicated acceptable adhesion between the protein and PHEE phases in the blends. In general, as the protein content was increased the materials lost ductility and failed in a brittle manner; however, the mechanical properties of several compositions were comparable to current commercial thermoplastics such as polystyrene.