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@article{185735,
        author = {Prabhash Chandra Kumar and Mukesh Kumar},
        title = {Development and Mechanical Characterization of PLA-Based Biopolymer Composites Reinforced with Rice Husk and Wheat Straw for Sustainable Food Packaging Applications},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {5},
        pages = {2555-2558},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=185735},
        abstract = {The environmental burden of petroleum-based plastics has necessitated the development of sustainable packaging materials. This study focuses on enhancing the mechanical properties of Polylactic Acid (PLA), a prominent biodegradable polymer, by reinforcing it with natural agro-waste fibers: rice husk (RH) and wheat straw (WS). The fibers were subjected to an alkaline peroxide pre-treatment to improve interfacial adhesion with the PLA matrix. Composites with varying weight percentages of PLA (90-100%), RH (0-6%), and WS (0-5%) were fabricated using melt-mixing and mould casting techniques. The mechanical properties, specifically compressive strength and Izod impact strength, were evaluated. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of treated fibers significantly improved the mechanical performance. The hybrid composite with 97% PLA, 2% RH, and 1% WS exhibited the optimum balance of properties, achieving a compressive strength of 68.12 MPa and an impact strength of 16.69 kJ/m², which represents an improvement over virgin PLA. This investigation confirms that rice husk and wheat straw are effective, low-cost, and sustainable reinforcements for developing high-performance PLA bio composites suitable for rigid and semi-flexible food packaging applications.},
        keywords = {Polylactic Acid (PLA), Rice Husk, Wheat Straw, Bio-composites, Mechanical Properties, Sustainable Packaging, Agro-waste.},
        month = {October},
        }