Tensile Properties and Degradability of Polyvinyl Alcohol and Starch Succinate Blend
The purpose of this study was to determine the tensile properties of biodegradable Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) impregnated with commercial grade starch succinate (SS). PVA is a hydrophilic and hygroscopic polymer, and inclusion of SS reduces PVA's hygroscopicity and hydrophilicity. The compounding of PVA with SS was prepared by using a twin screw extruder with fixed flow modifier. The ratios of SS were varied between 5% to 20%. Melt flow index, tensile properties, soil burial and sun exposure degradability were investigated in this study. Tensile strength was observed to increase proportionate to the amount of SS incorporated while the blends were found to have greater flexibility as their elongation increases as their modulus dropped. SS was found to have greater flexibility chain which imparted greater elongation during stretching test. Higher content of SS was found to impart better degradation rate as derived from visual observation of the samples exposed to sunlight and soil burial.