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Degradability comparison of poly(butylene adipate terephthalate) and its composites filled with starch and calcium carbonate in different aquatic environments
Author(s) -
Wang X.W.,
Wang G.X.,
Huang D.,
Lu B.,
Zhen Z.C.,
Ding Y.,
Ren Z.L.,
Wang P.L.,
Zhang W.,
Ji J.H.
Publication year - 2019
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/app.46916
Subject(s) - starch , adipate , distilled water , biodegradation , degradation (telecommunications) , materials science , calcium carbonate , composite material , seawater , salt (chemistry) , composite number , citric acid , chemical engineering , chemistry , food science , organic chemistry , telecommunications , oceanography , chromatography , computer science , engineering , geology
ABSTRACT We investigated the degradation behavior of biodegradable poly(butylene adipate terephthalate) (PBAT) and its composites containing starch (PBAT–starch) and calcium carbonate (PBAT–CaCO 3 ). The test splines were immersed in six different water bodies with various microbial compositions and salt concentrations for a 56 week period to obtain consistent experimental data. The results show that the pure PBAT degraded very slowly in the six water bodies, with a maximum weight loss of only 4.7% over the 56 week study period. Strips of the PBAT–starch composite showed a significantly accelerated biodegradation in microbe‐containing water; the degree of degradation depended largely on the type and abundance of microorganisms in the water bodies. Conversely, compared with the pure PBAT strips, PBAT–CaCO 3 showed less degradation in the various water bodies. A comparison of degradability between the strips immersed in sterilized distilled water and sterilized seawater indicated that inorganic salts did not significantly affect the degradation of PBAT. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136 , 46916.