Influence of Elettaria Cardamomum L. and Myristica fragrans Houtt. Seeds on the Thermal Properties and Flammability of Poly(lactic acid)

Abstract

Pharmaceutical studies have reported for many years that plants containing antioxidants have many health-promoting properties, mainly due to organic compounds capable of scavenging free radicals. In this work, the activity of two representative plant families was tested: Elettaria cardamomum L. (EC) and Myristica fragrans Houtt. (MF). Results indicate that the antioxidants contained in them decompose into gaseous products at temperatures up to about 640 K. The introduction of EC and MF to the biopolymer matrix resulted in a decrease in the thermal stability of the obtained composites. The resulting char residues acted as a local thermal insulator, which led to reduced flammability of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites. As a result, the use of 10 wt% EC and 7.5 wt% MF reduced flammability by 37% and 29%, respectively.