Bio-based polymer blend with tunable properties developed from paramylon hexanoate and poly(butylene succinate)

Paramylon hexanoate (PaHe) is an ester derivative of paramylon, a storage polysaccharide photosynthesized by Euglena. In this study, PaHe was blended with poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) by melt-extrusion and characterized for its physical properties. Although the blend was immiscible even in low loading of PaHe (2.5–10 wt%), the elongation at break (from 611 to 980%) and modulus of toughness (from 1260 to 2248 MPa) improved compared to neat PBS. This was attributed to the unique micro-bead morphology in blends with low PaHe loading revealed using selective enzymatic etching technique. In addition, the hydrophobicity of PBS was enhanced as a result of inclusion of hydrophobic acyl groups in the blend system. Furthermore, X-ray analyses of uniaxially stretched films showed high degree of orientation (94–96%) with tensile strengths up to 244 MPa. PBS/PaHe blends also had good thermal stability making it viable for sustainable packaging and mulch-film applications.