Wheat straw content (10-90 wt%) governs mechanical performance, moisture uptake and formability in hot-pressed polylactic acid biocomposite boards

Wheat straw content (10-90 wt%) governs mechanical performance, moisture uptake and formability in hot-pressed polylactic acid biocomposite boards | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Wheat straw content (10-90 wt%) governs mechanical performance, moisture uptake and formability in hot-pressed polylactic acid biocomposite boards Yuqing Wang, Siti Suhaily Surip This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8577821/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Wheat straw-reinforced polylactic acid composite boards were fabricated by hot pressing to quantify how the wheat straw content governs mechanical performance, moisture uptake, and formability. An L9 (3 3 ) orthogonal design using 40 wt% wheat straw was first applied to screen processing parameters, and the selected condition was 180°C, 14 MPa and 20 min. Using this fixed condition and a constant batch mass, boards with wheat straw contents from 10 to 90 wt% were prepared. Tensile and bending strength increased with straw content up to 50 wt% and then decreased, reaching 11.26 MPa and 17.54 MPa at 50 wt%. Impact strength decreased with increasing straw content and was approximately 5.12 kJ/m 2 at 60 wt%. Density decreased from about 1.23 g/cm − 3 for neat polylactic acid to below 0.95 g/cm − 3 at 80 to 90 wt%. Water absorption increased with immersion time and approached saturation at approximately 100 hours, with the uptake rising markedly at 70 to 90 wt%. X-ray diffraction indicated a reduction in crystallinity without a change in crystal form, while scanning electron microscopy revealed increased porosity and interfacial debonding above 60 wt%. A wheat straw content of about 40 to 50 wt% provided the best balance among strength, moisture resistance and processability for board manufacture. Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Materials science Wheat straw content PLA biocomposite Process optimisation Orthogonal experimental design Performance testing Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 20 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 19 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 04 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 31 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 26 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 23 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 20 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 20 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8577821","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":580863859,"identity":"9bba2d00-a014-40c0-bc0f-bcf13db4ec9a","order_by":0,"name":"Yuqing Wang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABDElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBADHgYG5gNAmpkkLWwJDAdAWthI0GVAnBaD42cPv+Zts5Yx51/z+fPHNms5c/kGNsmfOQzRBgdwaDmTl2bN25bOYznj7TaJg23pxpZtDGzSvNsYcjfg0GJ2IMfMmLftMI/BjbPbGA62HU7ccAyohRGflvNvYFrOPP4A1FIP0iL5E5+WGznGj8FazvcwAB12OMEAqEUCn8Psb7wxY5xzLh1oC5uZxJlz6YYbjiU2W/Nuk8idiUOLZH+O8Yc3Zdb2BucPP/5QUWYtb3D48MGbP7fZ5Pbh0AIEbFI8oOiQSIAJMDYACQkGBdxamD/+AGnhR1ch34BTyygYBaNgFIwsAAAQWGQGRxzCjQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yuqing","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":580863860,"identity":"6d57f4ec-c730-4fbc-a8bf-16c8daabb467","order_by":1,"name":"Siti Suhaily Surip","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Siti","middleName":"Suhaily","lastName":"Surip","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-12 06:08:39","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8577821/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8577821/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":101300520,"identity":"f21c1175-c626-460e-8cc5-9b6ddf572c2a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-28 09:48:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1073173,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"WangYuqingManuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8577821/v1_covered_0830e22c-9dcc-40a2-a003-fa4545c19590.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Wheat straw content (10-90 wt%) governs mechanical performance, moisture uptake and formability in hot-pressed polylactic acid biocomposite boards","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Wheat straw content, PLA biocomposite, Process optimisation, Orthogonal experimental design, Performance testing","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8577821/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8577821/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWheat straw-reinforced polylactic acid composite boards were fabricated by hot pressing to quantify how the wheat straw content governs mechanical performance, moisture uptake, and formability. An L9 (3\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e) orthogonal design using 40 wt% wheat straw was first applied to screen processing parameters, and the selected condition was 180\u0026deg;C, 14 MPa and 20 min. Using this fixed condition and a constant batch mass, boards with wheat straw contents from 10 to 90 wt% were prepared. Tensile and bending strength increased with straw content up to 50 wt% and then decreased, reaching 11.26 MPa and 17.54 MPa at 50 wt%. Impact strength decreased with increasing straw content and was approximately 5.12 kJ/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e at 60 wt%. Density decreased from about 1.23 g/cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3\u003c/sup\u003e for neat polylactic acid to below 0.95 g/cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3\u003c/sup\u003e at 80 to 90 wt%. Water absorption increased with immersion time and approached saturation at approximately 100 hours, with the uptake rising markedly at 70 to 90 wt%. X-ray diffraction indicated a reduction in crystallinity without a change in crystal form, while scanning electron microscopy revealed increased porosity and interfacial debonding above 60 wt%. A wheat straw content of about 40 to 50 wt% provided the best balance among strength, moisture resistance and processability for board manufacture.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Wheat straw content (10-90 wt%) governs mechanical performance, moisture uptake and formability in hot-pressed polylactic acid biocomposite boards","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-28 09:28:41","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8577821/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-02-20T08:20:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-19T06:26:14+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"137660358548810700803028737795699199729","date":"2026-02-11T04:23:29+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-04T11:33:42+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"124603533134926227325383933326984464868","date":"2026-02-01T14:30:11+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"91096484745466429270881955333386582255","date":"2026-01-31T05:45:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-27T04:19:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-01-23T12:36:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-01-20T07:48:28+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2026-01-20T07:34:07+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"437f9d92-2eaa-4137-a45b-f1b338399873","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 28th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":61790989,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"},{"id":61790990,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-08T09:25:04+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-28 09:28:41","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8577821","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8577821","identity":"rs-8577821","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}