Thermoplastic Composites of Canola Seed Meal with Poly(vinyl butyral)

The global production of edible oil from plant species is growing rapidly and canola is a major abundant source of edible oil in the world. Canola meal (60 % of canola oil seed), the residue remaining after extraction of oil from the seed, is an important stock feed but also has the potential to be used for additional applications such as the production of composite materials. In the present study, canola seed meal is ground into fine particles using a Wiley mill and blended with a poly(vinyl butyral) resin and compression molding at 180 °C. The micro-structural morphology, and mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural and viscoelastic properties of the composites are measured and corresponding results are described. A canola meal composite with poly(vinyl butyral, at a 50:50 mass ratio possesses an average tensile strength of 9.8 MPa and flexural strength of 23.9 MPa. It shows a glass transition temperature at around 60 °C as observed by dynamic mechanical analysis. Scanning electron microscopic study reveals a two-phase microstructural morphology in the blended composites. All composites were hydrophobic, showing water contact angles greater than 90 °. These properties indicate that canola seed meal and poly(vinyl butyral) composites have the potential to be used in various applications as a replacement of traditional plastic materials.