Sustainable Composites Based on Spent Coffee Grounds and Bio PBS: Thermal and Mechanical Analysis

The environmental concerns over using non-renewable resources for developing non-biodegradable products have necessitated research efforts toward exploring alternative non-fossil-based resources. The current trend is focused on incorporating agro-food waste in novel biodegradable polymers. In the current experimental investigation, bio-based poly (butylene succinate) (bio PBS) based biocomposites were developed by incorporating spent coffee grounds (SCG) with a particle size of 150–212 µm (30 wt%) using the extrusion-injection molding process. The analyzed results show that incorporating SCG fillers decreases the thermal stability, storage and loss modulus values of the developed composites. The tensile and flexural strength of developed composites were reduced by adding SCG fillers while modulus values (tensile and flexural) increased. Despite raw SCG powder’s poor compatibility with biodegradable polymers, it balances the environmental advantages by incorporating it into biopolymers.