Comparison on Mechanical Property of PLA/PBAT Film under Simulate Weathering Tests

The mechanical property changes of PLA/PBAT packaging films under different weathering tests were conducted. After manufactured by plant-size equipment, the tensile strength, elongation rate and tearing strength of printed/non-printed fully-biodegradable packaging films were evaluated after eight-days testing under different weathering conditions including xenon-lamp aging, salt spraying, cooling and freezing, simulating the use of commercial fully-degradable bags in outdoor environment, ocean or coast environment, and in the ice chest of supermarkets. The results demonstrate that printing process led to a decrease of mechanical properties of the fully-biodegradable films. Moreover, the weathering tests had remarkable negative impact on the toughness of fully-biodegradable films, and had large impact on the tearing resistance of the films, while the strength of films were less influenced. Additionally, the low-temperature conditions show less influence on the mechanical properties of fully-biodegradable films, and the high salinity and high humidity environment exhibits tremendous impact on the fully-biodegradable films. The proposed research demonstrates the capability of commercial fully-biodegradable films for different application scenarios, as well as the referrible disposal treatment for fully-biodegradable films.