Rotational molding of biodegradable composites obtained with PLA reinforced by the wooden backbone of opuntia ficus indica cladodes

This work is aimed to study the suitability of the wooden backbone of opuntia ficus indica cladodes as reinforcement for the production of biodegradable composites by rotational molding. The wooden backbone is extracted from opuntia ficus indica cladodes, which constitute a very relevant agricultural scrap, and is characterized by a thick-walled cellular structure. In view of the potential of poly-lactic acid (PLA) for the production of hollow components by rotational molding, the use of the wooden backbone is expected to increase the stiffness of the material. The wooden backbone of opuntia cladodes can be readily incorporated in the wall thickness of rotational molding products, in contrast to other natural fibers in the form of filaments and/or bundles, which are very difficult to use in the rotational molding. The results obtained showed that, although being characterized by lower properties compared with compression-molded PLA, the bio-composites are characterized by adequate mechanical properties, higher than those previously found for PLA processed by rotational molding. In view of a potential application for the production of fully biodegradable hollow parts, an increase of stiffness and strength can therefore be attained adopting materials and procedure developed in this work.