Resumen de Structure and thermal properties of maleated lignin-recycled polystyrene composites
Justo Lisperguer, Christian Nuñez, Patricio Perez-guerrero
In this work, the changes caused by a chemical modification of the properties and chemical structures of lignin are studied. Lignin from a mixture of Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus nitens obtained through the kraft pulping process was used. The lignin was isolated by acid precipitation and modified by a reaction with maleic anhydride. Maleated lignin (ML) was incorporated to recycled polystyrene (rPS) at 2, 5, and 10 wt-% by a melt-blending process. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to determine the ML structure, and the morphology of rPS/ ML composites was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to study the glass-transition temperature (Tg) and the thermal stability of rPS and rPS/ ML composites and were compared with virgin PS. The Tg values of rPS and their composites were higher than those of the virgin PS. TGA revealed that the thermal stability of rPS with 2 and 5% of ML was slightly greater than that of the virgin PS. These results suggest that postconsumer PS can be used to obtain composite materials with good thermal properties.
