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Mechanical properties and biodegradability of LDPE blends with fatty‐acid esters of amylose and starch
Author(s) -
Bikiaris D.,
Aburto J.,
Alric I.,
Borredon E.,
Botev M.,
Betchev C.,
Panayiotou C.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19990214)71:7<1089::aid-app7>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - biodegradation , low density polyethylene , differential scanning calorimetry , dynamic mechanical analysis , materials science , ultimate tensile strength , amylose , starch , polyethylene , composite material , miscibility , polymer blend , scanning electron microscope , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , polymer , chemistry , organic chemistry , copolymer , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
In the present article a series of low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) blends with different amounts of fatty esters of amylose and starch, were prepared in a Haake‐Buchler Reomixer. The tensile as well as the dynamic thermomechanical (DMTA) properties of the blends were measured. It was found that as the amount of the esters increases in the blends, the tensile strength and especially the elongation at break decrease nonlinearly. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to assess the interfacial adhesion between LDPE and the corresponding esters. The incompatibility of the blends was also verified with DMTA and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). From the biodegradation studies of the blends during exposure in activated sludge, it was found that all esters are biodegradable, although to a much lesser degree compared to pure strach. The biodegradation rate of the composites is relatively small due to the low biodegradation rate of the pure esters. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 71: 1089–1100, 1999