| Autor: |
Chan CM; School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia., Martin D; School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia., Gauthier E; School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia., Jensen P; Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia., Laycock B; School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia., Pratt S; School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. |
| Abstrakt: |
Paunch is a fibrous solid residue consisting of partially digested feed from the stomachs of processed cattle. It is the largest untapped solid waste stream from animals at meat processing plants, and potentially a valuable source of fibres for the production of sustainable and potentially higher-value natural biocomposite materials. Paunch was obtained from the waste effluent of a red meat processing plant, and the fibre characteristics of the as-obtained material were studied and benchmarked against wood flour and ground buffel grass, with a view to evaluating the potential of paunch as a fibre for polymer composites. The ground paunch possessed a rough fibrous surface and fibre-like characteristics that were comparable to both wood flour and ground buffel grass, demonstrating their potential for use in composites. Without any pre-treatment or compatibilisation, composites of a representative biopolymer, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and ground paunch were successfully produced for the first time via extrusion, with up to 50 wt% paunch content. Mechanical property analysis showed that, at 30 wt% content, PHBV/ground paunch composites yielded mechanical properties that were comparable to those of composites with ground buffel grass. |
