Kinetics of the Thermal Degradation of Poly(lactic acid) and Polyamide Bioblends

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and biosourced polyamide (PA) bioblends, with a variable PA weight content of 10-50%, were prepared by melt blending in order to overcome the high brittleness of PLA. During processing, the properties of the melt were stabilized and enhanced by the addition of a styrene-acrylic multi-functional-epoxide oligomeric reactive agent (SAmfE). The general analytical equation (GAE) was used to evaluate the kinetic parameters of the thermal degradation of PLA within bioblends. Various empirical and theoretical solid-state mechanisms were tested to find the best kinetic model. In order to study the effect of PA on the PLA matrix, only the first stage of the thermal degradation was taken into consideration in the kinetic analysis (α y(α) master plots, which are independent of activation energy values, were used to confirm that the selected reaction mechanism was the most adequate. Activation energy values were calculated as a function of PA content. Moreover, the onset thermal stability of PLA was also determined.