Biodegradable Continuous Fibre Reinforced Composites Based on Hybrid Yarns

During the last four decades the biodegradable polymers have found their place in special applications in biomedical and technical fields. [1-4] However, their worldwide production volumes are still marginal compared with non-biodegradable polymers. One of the major restricting factors for the wider use of biodegradable polymers in the field of load bearing medical devices, packaging, and consumer goods is the lack of mechanical properties and cost of goods. For instance, one of the most widely used biodegradable polymers, polylactide (PLA), for non-load bearing medical devices, fibres, nonwovens, films, and disposable articles is a comparably hard and brittle material. Regarding to mechanical properties of PLA no significant improvements have been achieved since the development of self-reinforced PLA [5]. Natural way of improving mechanical properties of PLA products is to use PLA as a matrix for biodegradable composites.