Properties and Characterization of PLA, PHA, and Other Types of Biopolymer Composites

Abstract The use of polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) polymers in various advanced applications have been certified long time ago due to their promising properties. Processing methods of biodegradable thermoplastic polymer are similar to conventional thermoplastics but required adjustment on processing parameters or incorporations of compatibilizers. The differences in term of viscosity, melt flow rate, and melt strength have caused the existing processing parameters unsuitable for biopolymers. Thermal degradation is the normal issue needed to deal with, during biopolymer processing. Several important process methods, such as extrusion, injection molding, blowing molding, thermoforming, and 3D printing, have been discussed in this chapter for PHA and PLA biopolymers. Besides this, the developmental application of the biopolymers, especially in medical sector, has been reviewed in the last section of this chapter.