Study and quantification of the effects induced by ionizing radiation on starch-lignin blends and their corresponding models

This work was part of the LignoStarch ANR CP2D Project aimed at understanding the radiation-induced processes and mechanisms in thermoplastic starch - lignin mixture at the molecular level. Starch has the advantage of being biodegradable and agriculture based renewable resource that can be converted into a thermoplastic material with or without any additive. Lignin and its derivatives are good candidates for reducing the water sensitivity of starch based materials; however being hydrophobic in nature they are not compatible with the polysaccharides. Electron Beam radiation has been proposed as an efficient method for modifying the starch lignin blends and creating covalent linkages between the two constituents for improved blend stability. Previous studies as part of the Project have shown that the mechanical properties of the irradiated blends can be positively modified by choosing an appropriate blend composition. For a better understanding of how the properties of the blend can be tailored, an understanding of the radiation-induced processes was carried out using model blends comprising maltodextrin and different aromatic compounds having structural features of lignin monomers. The blends were analyzed using SEC, NMR, and MALDI-TOF for placing in evidence the phenomenon of radiation-induced grafting to compete with chain scission in presence of the aromatic additives. The quantification of the radiochemical yields of scission G(s) and crosslinking G(x) were carried out using the blends of pullulan polysaccharide as a function of varying amounts of aromatic additive in the blend. The methods of calculation exploited here are based on the study of radiation-induced molecular mass changes before the formation of gel as proposed by Saito and the quantification of sol-gel content for formulations resulting in gel as proposed by the Charlesby-Pinner method. The condition of gel formation G(s) < 4 G(x) is found to be valid for a certain minimum quantity of aromatic additive for high applied doses. (author)