A Circular Approach for the Valorization of Tomato By-Product in Biodegradable Injected Materials for Horticulture Sector
Résumé
This study focuses on the use of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) by-product biomass from industrial plants as reinforcement for designing a range of new degradable and biobased thermoplastic materials. As a novel technique, this fully circular approach enables a promising up-cycling of tomato wastes. After an in-depth morphological study of the degree of reinforcement through SEM and dynamic analysis, mechanical characterization was carried out. Our mechanical results demonstrate that this circular approach is of interest for composite applications. Despite their moderate aspect ratio values (between 1.5 and 2), the tomato by-product-reinforced materials can mechanically compete with existing formulations; PBS-Tomato fiber, for example, exhibits mechanical performance very close to that of PP-flax, especially regarding strength (+11%) and elongation at break (+6%). According to the matrix and particle morphology, a large range of products—biobased and/or degradable, depending on the targeted application—can be designed from tomato cultivation by-products.
Domaines
Matériaux
Origine : Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte
Licence : CC BY - Paternité
Licence : CC BY - Paternité
