Manufacture and Mechanical Testing of Thin Film Composites Composed of Poly-lactic Acid and Nanocrystalline Cellulose

Since this project is a result of a class assignment, it has been graded and accepted as fulfillment of the course requirements. Acceptance does not imply technical accuracy or reliability. Any use of the information in this report, including numerical data, is done at the risk of the user. These risks may include catastrophic failure of the device or infringement of patent or copyright laws. The students, faculty, and staff of Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo cannot be held liable for any misuse of the project. Abstract Society's overuse of petroleum-based plastic products has created a waste problem that is threatening environments around the world. New efforts have been made to find a suitable replacement derived from a renewable source. Poly-lactic acid has become one of the front-runners in this search. It is derived from starches found in potatoes, corn, and other grains. There are many factors that make Poly-lactic acid-based polymers a suitable replacement for petroleum-based ones, but it still suffers from low mechanical strength due to low crystallinity percentages. Doping the polymer with nanocrystalline cellulose provides more nucleation sites for the crystallization of the polymer than provided by homogeneous nucleation. The results of this doping are analyzed by mechanical tensile testing and Differential Scanning Calorimetry testing.