Assesement of the Biodegradability of Composites produced from Poly-Lactic Acid and Bamboo Flour

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biodegradability of composites made from bamboo flour and poly lactic acid using physical properties and biodurability examinations. On the other hand, the effect of the amount and size of the bamboo flour particles on the physical properties and durability of the biocomposites was another objective of the research. the bamboo flour and polymer were mixed up in a counter-rotating twin screw extruder. the biocomposites boards were produced by compression molding method. The samples were cut and evaluated according to the suggested specifications in the ASTM and EN-113 standards. The results showed that the thickness swelling and water absorption of the composites were increased significantly by increasing the amount and size of bamboo flour particles. Also, biodurability of the biocomposites samples against the studied three fungi species showed that Gloeophyllum trabeum sharply caused high mass losses in all samples by increasing the amount of bamboo flour, while pure polymer (PLA) had a very high durability against the fungi.