Los materiales biodegradables, una alternativa a la contaminación de los polímeros sintéticos

Currently there is a great problem due to the exponential growth of waste, caused mainly by the accumulation of plastics manufactured by the industry and used by society in a wide line of articles to cover the needs in different areas, which in their Most are single-use, this makes them great generators of environmental pollution due to their low degradability and the negative impact they cause on water sources, this is one of the reasons why in recent years industries have focused on in obtaining materials that solve these problems, and this is precisely what is addressed in this project, where the characterization of a composite material formed by a mixture of potato starch and polyethylene was carried out, under established parameters, which demonstrated have good thermal properties making it suitable for the manufacture of industrial items. The degradation rate of the material was evaluated for approximately 6 months in an environment with a high load of microorganisms; Thanks to hydrolysis, the presence of moisture in the soil weakens the bonds between the molecules of the material, making it easier for microorganisms to use it as food, generating CO2, water and biomass as waste products. To corroborate the biodegradability of the material, the methods described in ASTM D-6400 and D-5988 standards were taken into account, in an environment that resembles a garbage dump.