Preparation and Properties of blends of polypropylene and Acrylonitril-Butadiene-Styrene with Thermoplastic Starch

In the present work, the rheological and mechanical properties of polypropylene /thermoplastic starch (PP/TPS) and acrylonitril-butadienestyrene/ thermoplastic starch (ABS/TPS) blends were investigated. Starch was plasticized using glycerol, and blends were prepared using a laboratory scale with single screw extruder. Rheological properties of the prepared blends were determined using a capillary rheometer. Mechanical properties were studied in term of tensile tests, stress at break, strain at break and Young s modulus were determined. Rheological results showed that the blends are pseudo plastic in manner and the true viscosity of PP/TPS blend decreases with increasing TPS content in the blend until 10%, and at more than 10% TPS it increases with increasing TPS. In ABS/TPS, the true viscosity decreases with increasing TPS content in the blend. The mechanical results showed that in both systems, the stress at break and strain at break decrease with increasing TPS content in the blend while the Young s modulus increases with increasing TPS content. The mechanical results shown that the addition of TPS to each of PP and ABS follows the general trend for filler effects on polymer properties.