Antioxidant properties of lignin in polypropylene

C. Pouteau (1) , Patrice Dole (2) , Bernard Cathala (2) , Luc Avérous (2) , N. Boquillon (3)

1 INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
2 FARE - Fractionnement des AgroRessources et Environnement
3 Agro-Industrie Recherches et Développements

This work deals with lignin antioxidant properties in polypropylene. We extracted and characterised 15 lignin samples from various botanical origins (wheat straw and wheat bran) using different processes of extraction and using industrial Kraft lignins fractions (Westaco). These lignins were incorporated in polypropylene (1% weight). We underline the effect of lignin solubility in PP on stabilisation behaviour. The solubility in polypropylene is very low; as a consequence, classically important factors such as phenol content and intrinsic reactivity of the molecule are less important than factors making easier solubility. Solubility in PP could not be measured directly; a morphological criterion (average dimension of lignin aggregates in the blend) has been correlated to antioxidant activity and is thought indirectly to reflect solubility behaviour. The following factors tend to improve the compatibility (blend morphology) and consequently the antioxidant activity:

Mots clés: polypropylene; antioxidant; ageing; lignin; solubility

Domaines: Ingénierie des aliments; Génie des procédés; Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]; Sciences de l'environnement

C. Pouteau, Patrice Dole, Bernard Cathala, Luc Avérous, N. Boquillon. Antioxidant properties of lignin in polypropylene. Polymer Degradation and Stability, 2003, 81 (1), pp.9-18. ⟨10.1016/s0141-3910(03)00057-0⟩. ⟨hal-02683437⟩