his research work aimed to study the effects of the addition of sisal fiber and surface treatment by epoxy silane on the physical and thermal properties of polylactic acid (PLA). Specimens of PLA and unidirectional fiber-reinforced composite were processed by a compression molding machine and evaluated the physical and thermal properties by water absorption measurement and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis respectively. The result showed that water absorption tended to increase by adding sisal fiber whereas surface treatment of sisal fiber by epoxy silane improved water resistance of composites. The water absorption values at immersion time of 5 days were 0.89 1.13 and 1.26 % for PLA PLA/treated sisal fiber composite and PLA/untreated sisal fiber composite respectively. For thermal properties the addition of sisal fiber led to decreases in glass transition temperature and crystallinity. These were because the presence of continuous fiber might interfere with the crystallization of PLA. The surface treatment of continuous fiber with epoxy silane led to difficult crystallization. The good interfacial adhesion interrupted PLA alignment.

This research work was to study the toughening modification of polylactic acid by the mixing with epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) and the increase of effectiveness of mechanical properties with a compatibilizer. Enhancement of properties in polylactic acid was evaluated by tensile and impact testings Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) technique Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) technique and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). For the addition of ENR it was revealed that the increase of ENR contents improved elongation at break and impact strength but decreased tensile modulus and ultimate tensile strength. Glass transition temperature (Tg) percentage crystallinity and the melting point of polylactic acid tended to decrease with the addition of ENR. Chemical change was found that position of C=O peak in polymer blend was slightly shifted as compared to the spectrum of neat polylactic acid. The optimum formulation for toughening modification was ENR content of 30 wt%. Its impact strength was 1982.55 % of neat polylactic acid. For increasing effectiveness of mechanical properties with a compatibilizer it revealed that the addition of Joncryl ® ADR-4300 as compatibilizer improved both tensile and impact properties. The optimum loading of a compatibilizer for improving mechanical properties was 0.5 wt% of polylactic acid. The decreases of crystallinity and melting point of polylactic acid with adding Joncryl ® ADR-4300 might be because Joncryl ® ADR-4300 was also chain extender of polylactic acid and it might be obstructing crystallization. The presence of Joncryl ® ADR-4300 unaffected on Tg value and chemical change.

The aims of this research work were to enhance the impact resistance and processibilty of wheat gluten (WG) by the addition of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) compared to glycerol. This work was divided into two parts: to study the optimum ENR content for improvement of WG and the effect of together functions between ENR and glycerol on the properties of WG. Tested specimens were mixed and prepared by internal mixer and compression molding machine respectively. ENR and glycerol were varied from 10 to 40 phr. The effects of modifier types and contents on WG were evaluated by tensile impact and water absorption testing and thermal analysis. Fracture behavior and rubber dispersion were investigate with scanning electron microscope (SEM). The result revealed that the increase of ENR or Glycerol contents led to the decreases in tensile modulus and strength except for modifier content of 10 phr whereas elongation at break and impact strength increased. Glass transition temperature (Tg) of modified WG tended to decreased with the increase of ENR or glycerol contents especially for glycerol. The presence of glycerol affected on the decomposition temperature (Td) values but those were unchanged for case of ENR. Water resistant of WG specimen was improved by the presence of ENR whereas the increase of glycerol led to weight loss at immersion time of 2880 min. For the effect of ENR : glycerol ratios it indicated that glycerol enhanced tensile resistances but suppressed impact and water resistances of modified WG by ENR. Sizes and dispersion of ENR particles were improved by the addition of glycerol. Tg and Td values of modified WG by ENR and glycerol increased when ENR fractions were increased.

This research work was to study the improvement of toughness and impact resistance of polylactic acid (PLA) with modified soybean oil (MSBO) and palm fiber (PF). The detail of this work was divided into three parts. The first was to find the suitable condition for modification of soybean oil with ozonolysis. The second and last parts were to study the effects of MSBO and PF contents on the properties of PLA respectively. For oil modification the reaction times were varied from 0 to 3 hours and the chemical changes in molecules of soybean oil were investigated by Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies. The result suggested that the most suitable condition for ozonolysis reaction was 2 hours considering the decrease in double bond between carbon atoms and the increase in hydroxyl group into molecular structure of MSBO. For the effect of MSBO content on mechanical properties it was evaluated by tensile and impact testing. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used for thermal and morphology analyses. The result showed that elongation at break and impact strength of modified PLA by MSBO increased about 89 and 25 % compared to those of neat PLA respectively. MSBO act as the efficient plasticizer for PLA considering the conversion of fracture behavior from brittle to ductile good dispersions of MSBO droplets in PLA and the decrease of glass transition temperature (Tg) with addition of MSBO. The addition of PF improved the impact strength of modified PLA. Strong interfacial bonding between PLA and PF indicated MSBO being both coupling agent for PLA and natural fiber and plasticizer for PLA. For migration test it was found that contents of released heavy metal and migrated chemical from specimens of PLA and PLA/PF composite were under the criteria according to Notification of the Ministry of Public Health (No. 295) B.E. 2548.

For this work PM10 were collected from 7 stations within the area of North Phra Nakhon campus Rajamangala University of Technology Phra Nakhon Thailand. The samples were collected within 24 hours from January to April 2015. The result shows that the concentrations of PM10 values are in the range of 0.06 - 0.16 mg/m3 and average PM10 of 0.09 mg/m3. The maximum PM10 were found in front of the university. The comparison of maximum PM10 with the standard value of Pollution Control Department (PCD) was slightly over but did not affect human health.