Production and characterization of porous starch granule and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) blend as a bio-composite

To improve the miscibility of native rice starch granules and poly(butylene adipate-coterephthalate)(PBAT), rice starch was hydrolyzed by a mixture of α-amylase and amyloglucosidase. The obtained porous rice granular starch was then mechanically blended with PBAT by single screw extruder. Many pits and holes on the surface of starch granules were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The rough surface of the rice starch granules improved the compatibility of the polymers in the blends, which consequently increased the tensile strength and the elongation at break. In addition, SEM also revealed that the porous granules were homogeneously distributed in the polymer matrix with no appearance of gaps.