scholarly journals Monitoring the degradation of partly decomposable plastic foils

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-44
Author(s):  
Gabriella Rétháti ◽  
Krisztina Pogácsás ◽  
Tamás Heffner ◽  
Barbara Simon ◽  
Imre Czinkota ◽  
...  

Abstract We have monitored the behaviour of different polyethylene foils including virgin medium density polyethylene (MDPE), MDPE containing pro-oxydative additives (238, 242) and MDPE with pro-oxydative additives and thermoplastic starch (297) in the soil for a period of one year. A foil based on a blend of polyester and polylactic acid (BASF Ecovio) served as degradable control. The experiment was carried out by weekly measurements of conductivity and capacity of the soil, since the setup was analogous to a condenser, of which the insulating layer was the foil itself. The twelve replications allowed monthly sampling; the specimen taken out from the soil each month were tested visually for thickness, mechanical properties, morphological and structural changes, and molecular mass. Based on the obtained capacity values, we found that among the polyethylene foils, the one that contained thermoplastic starch extenuated the most. This foil had the greatest decrease in tensile strength and elongation at break due to the presence of thermoplastic starch. The starch can completely degrade in the soil; thus, the foil had cracks and pores. The polyethylene foils that contained pro-oxydant additives showed smaller external change compared to the virgin foil, since there was no available UV radiation and oxygen for their degradation. The smallest change occurred in the virgin polyethylene foil. Among the five examined samples, the commercially available BASF foil showed the largest extenuation and external change, and it deteriorated the most in the soil.

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (14) ◽  
pp. 3236
Author(s):  
Peng Yin ◽  
Wen Zhou ◽  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Bin Guo ◽  
Panxin Li

In order to improve the mechanical properties and water resistance of thermoplastic starch (TPS), a novel reinforcement of dialdehyde lignocellulose (DLC) was prepared via the oxidation of lignocellulose (LC) using sodium periodate. Then, the DLC-reinforced TPS composites were prepared by an extrusion and injection process using glycerol as a plasticizer. The DLC and LC were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the effects of DLC content on the properties of the DLC/TPS composites were investigated via the evaluation of SEM images, mechanical properties, thermal stability, and contact angles. XRD showed that the crystallinity of the DLC decreased due to oxidation damage to the LC. SEM showed good dispersion of the DLC in the continuous TPS phase at low amounts of DLC, which related to good mechanical properties. The tensile strength of the DLC/TPS composite reached a maximum at a DLC content of 3 wt.%, while the elongation at break of the DLC/TPS composites increased with increasing DLC content. The DLC/TPS composites had better thermal stability than the neat TPS. As the DLC content increased, the water resistance first increased, then decreased. The highest tensile strength and elongation at break reached 5.26 MPa and 111.25%, respectively, and the highest contact angle was about 90.7°.


2013 ◽  
Vol 772 ◽  
pp. 34-37
Author(s):  
Hao Tang ◽  
Hai Tian Jiang ◽  
Bin Guo ◽  
Pan Xin Li

Corn starch was irradiated by 60Coγ ray, and then the thermoplastic starch plastic (TPS) was prepared by adding glycerol. Microstructure, thermal and mechanical properties of the corn starch and starch plastic were studied in details by FTIR, DSC and SEM. Results showed that the starch macromolecular structure was damaged by irradiation, and with increased irradiation time, the temperature of melt endothermic peak and tensile strength decreased, elongation at break increases for starch plastic, the thermoplastic property of starch was enhanced obviously.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 2955-2963
Author(s):  
Peixian Li ◽  
Huimin Guo ◽  
Kaixiong Yang ◽  
Xiaoyan Yu ◽  
Xiongwei Qu ◽  
...  

Nano montmorillonite (MMT) was modified by low molecular weight polylactic acid (PLA), then, the PLA modified MMT and raw MMT were added into thermoplastic starch (TPS) to prepare biodegradable nanocomposite films, respectively. For both nanocomposite films with raw MMT and modified MMT, the Tmax of degradation was enhanced and the mechanical properties were improved. The composite films containing 4 wt.% MMT displayed tensile strength of 5.06 MPa, approximately 1.4 times of that for the pure TPS films. The tensile strength of composite films containing 4 wt.% modified MMT is 6.74 MPa approximately 2 times of those for pure starch films. On the other hand, the composite film containing 4 wt.% modified MMT displayed elongation at break as high as 34.25%, which is 1.3 times of that of the pure starch film, while the composite films containing raw MMT had reduced elongation at break. This study showed that the MMT modified with PLA could significantly enhance the mechanical properties of TPS, and provides a new method to prepare fully biodegradable starch-based nanocomposites.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5317
Author(s):  
Rafał Malinowski ◽  
Aneta Raszkowska-Kaczor ◽  
Krzysztof Moraczewski ◽  
Wojciech Głuszewski ◽  
Volodymyr Krasinskyi ◽  
...  

The need for the development of new biodegradable materials and modification of the properties the current ones possess has essentially increased in recent years. The aim of this study was the comparison of changes occurring in poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) due to its modification by high-energy electron beam derived from a linear electron accelerator, as well as the addition of natural fibers in the form of cut hemp fibers. Changes to the fibers structure in the obtained composites and the geometrical surface structure of sample fractures with the use of scanning electron microscopy were investigated. Moreover, the mechanical properties were examined, including tensile strength, elongation at break, flexural modulus and impact strength of the modified PCL. It was found that PCL, modified with hemp fibers and/or electron radiation, exhibited enhanced flexural modulus but the elongation at break and impact strength decreased. Depending on the electron radiation dose and the hemp fibers content, tensile strength decreased or increased. It was also found that hemp fibers caused greater changes to the mechanical properties of PCL than electron radiation. The prepared composites exhibited uniform distribution of the dispersed phase in the polymer matrix and adequate adhesion at the interface between the two components.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1616
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Titone ◽  
Antonio Correnti ◽  
Francesco Paolo La Mantia

This work is focused on the influence of moisture content on the processing and mechanical properties of a biodegradable polyester used for applications in injection molding. The pellets of the biodegradable polyester were exposed under different relative humidity conditions at a constant temperature before being compression molded. The compression-molded specimens were again placed under the above conditions before the mechanical testing. With all these samples, it is possible to determine the effect of moisture content on the processing and mechanical properties separately, as well as the combined effect of moisture content on the mechanical properties. The results obtained showed that the amount of absorbed water—both before processing and before mechanical testing—causes an increase in elongation at break and a slight reduction of the elastic modulus and tensile strength. These changes have been associated with possible hydrolytic degradation during the compression molding process and, in particular, with the plasticizing action of the moisture absorbed by the specimens.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4329
Author(s):  
Atif H. Asghar ◽  
Ahmed Rida Galaly

An experimental study was performed on a low-density plasma discharge using two different configurations of the plasma cell cathode, namely, the one mesh system electrodes (OMSE) and the one mesh and three system electrodes (OMTSE), to determine the electrical characteristics of the plasma such as current–voltage characteristics, breakdown voltage (VB), Paschen curves, current density (J), cathode fall thickness (dc), and electron density of the treated sample. The influence of the electrical characteristics of the plasma fluid in the cathode fall region for different cathode configuration cells (OMSE and OMTSE) on the performance quality of a surgical gown was studied to determine surface modification, treatment efficiency, exposure time, wettability property, and mechanical properties. Over a very short exposure time, the treatment efficiency for the surgical gown surface of plasma over the mesh cathode at a distance equivalent to the cathode fall distance dc values of the OMTSE and for OMSE reached a maximum. The wettability property decreased from 90 to 40% for OMTSE over a 180 s exposure time and decreased from 90 to 10% for OMSE over a 160 s exposure time. The mechanisms of each stage of surgical gown treatment by plasma are described. In this study, the mechanical properties of the untreated and treated surgical gown samples such as the tensile strength and elongation percentage, ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, strain hardening, resilience, toughness, and fracture (breaking) point were studied. Plasma had a more positive effect on the mechanical properties of the OMSE reactor than those of the OMTSE reactor.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Myrtha Karina ◽  
Lucia Indrarti ◽  
Rike Yudianti ◽  
Indriyati

The effect of castor oil on the physical and mechanical properties of bacterial cellulose is described. Bacterial cellulose (BC) was impregnated with 0.5–2% (w/v) castor oil (CO) in acetone–water, providing BCCO films. Scanning electron micrographs revealed that the castor oil penetrated the pores of the bacterial cellulose, resulting in a smoother morphology and enhanced hydrophilicity. Castor oil caused a slight change in crystallinity indices and resulted in reduced tensile strength and Young's modulus but increased elongation at break. A significant reduction in tensile strength and Young's modulus was achieved in BCCO films with 2% castor oil, and there was an improvement in elongation at break and hydrophilicity. Impregnation with castor oil, a biodegradable and safe plasticiser, resulted in less rigid and more ductile composites.


2015 ◽  
Vol 799-800 ◽  
pp. 115-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anika Zafiah M. Rus ◽  
Nur Munirah Abdullah ◽  
M.F.L. Abdullah ◽  
M. Izzul Faiz Idris

Graphite reinforced bio-based epoxy composites with different particulate fractions of graphite were investigated for mechanical properties such as tensile strength, elastic modulus and elongation at break. The graphite content was varied from 5 wt.%, 10 wt.%, 15 wt.%, 20 wt.%, 25 wt.%, 30 wt.% by weight percent in the composites. The results showed that the mechanical properties of the composites mainly depend on dispersion condition of the treated graphite filler, aggregate structure and strong interfacial bonding between treated graphite in the bio-based epoxy matrix. The composites showed improved tensile strength and elastic modulus with increase treated graphite weight loading. This also revealed the composites with increasing filler content was decreasing the elongation at break.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongfang Qian ◽  
Zhen Zhang ◽  
Laijiu Zheng ◽  
Ruoyuan Song ◽  
Yuping Zhao

Design and fabrication of nanofibrous scaffolds should mimic the native extracellular matrix. This study is aimed at investigating electrospinning of polycaprolactone (PCL) blended with chitosan-gelatin complex. The morphologies were observed from scanning electron microscope. As-spun blended mats had thinner fibers than pure PCL. X-ray diffraction was used to analyze the degree of crystallinity. The intensity at two peaks at 2θof 21° and 23.5° gradually decreased with the percentage of chitosan-gelatin complex increasing. Moreover, incorporation of the complex could obviously improve the hydrophilicity of as-spun blended mats. Mechanical properties of as-spun nanofibrous mats were also tested. The elongation at break of fibrous mats increased with the PCL content increasing and the ultimate tensile strength varied with different weight ratios. The as-spun mats had higher tensile strength when the weight ratio of PCL to CS-Gel was 75/25 compared to pure PCL. Both as-spun PCL scaffolds and PCL/CS-Gel scaffolds supported the proliferation of porcine iliac endothelial cells, and PCL/CS-Gel had better cell viability than pure PCL. Therefore, electrospun PCL/Chitosan-gelatin nanofibrous mats with weight ratio of 75/25 have better hydrophilicity mechanical properties, and cell proliferation and thus would be a promising candidate for tissue engineering scaffolds.


2004 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-390
Author(s):  
Wonmun Choi ◽  
Tomoyuki Matsumura

Abstract The reactions of dichloroalkanes and sodium tetra-sulfide (Na2S4) were carried out in a mixture of water and toluene to produce corresponding cyclic polysulfides and polysulfide polymer. The low molecular weights of cyclic sulfides were obtained by the reaction at 90 °C, while the high molecular weight of polysulfide polymer was obtained by the reaction at 50 °C. GPC chromatograms and Mass spectra revealed that the structures of cyclic polysulfide were 1:1, 2:2, and 3:3 adducts of dichloroalkane and sodium tetra-sulfide. The mechanical properties of vulcanized NR at 148 °C with cyclic sulfides were similar to that with sulfur. However, both tensile strength and elongation at break of vulcanized NR at 170 °C with cyclic sulfides are much higher than that with sulfur. The aging properties of vulcanized NR at 148 °C or 170 °C with cyclic polysulfides indicate better stability.


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