Residence Time Distribution of Tapioca Starch-Poly(lactic acid)-Cloisite 10A Nanocomposite Foams in an Extruder

Tapioca starch, poly(lactic acid) and cloisite 10a nanocomposite foams were prepared by twin screw extrusion. residence time distribution (rtd) in an extruder is a useful means of determining optimal processing conditions for mixing, cooking and shearing reactions during the process. rtd was obtained by inputting a pulse-like stimulus and measuring its profile at the exit or other point in the extruder. during processing, after the steady state had been reached, a fixed amount of tracer was instantaneously fed into the extruder and its concentration was measured from the samples collected at fixed time intervals in the extruder exit. the tracer concentration was the value of the redness, a* was used as a measure of red colour intensity of the concentration of tracer in the extrudate. meanwhile, the effects of two screw configurations (compression and mixing screws) and two barrel temperatures (150 and 160ºc) on rtd of nanocomposite foams were also studied. the influences of screw configurations and barrel temperatures on rtd were analyzed using the mean residence time (mrt) and variance. screw configurations and temperatures had significant effects (p<0.05) on mtr. mixing screws and lower temperature resulted in higher mrt and variance of rtd