2001 AACC Annual Meeting Charlotte, North Carolina October 14-18, 2001 Charlotte Convention Center

Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed to study the functional properties of starch acetate foams blended with three types of fibers (cellulose, oat fiber, and wood fiber) in ratios of 0, 7.5 and 15%. The foams were extruded with 14, 17 and 20% ethanol as a blowing agent using a twin-screw extruder at 160°C barrel temperature and 225 rpm screw speed. Physical characteristics of the extrudates, such as radial expansion ratio, unit density, bulk density and mechanical properties, including bulk compressibility and bulk spring index were determined. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used for determination of glass transition and melting temperatures of the extruded samples. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) graphs were taken to investigate foam cell textures.