Plant fiber foam reinforced with distiller's grains and its static cushioning properties

The non-degradability of plastic foam and limited petroleum resources have caused great damage to the ecological environment of the earth. Here a bio-based foam was fabricated to explore its potential as cushioning packaging materials. Plant fiber foam (PFF) was prepared by foaming via mechanical stirring and oven drying. Sodium alginate (SA) and distiller's grains (DG) were introduced into plant fiber foam as cross-linking agent and filler respectively to enhance fiber bonding and improve the mechanical properties of PFF. Static cushioning properties of PFF were investigated. In addition, the static compression constitutive model of PFF was established and the results showed the model could be used to predict the stress-strain curve of PFF under static compression.