Abstract
Changes in physical and mechanical properties of poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) during degradation in a composting medium were studied. Effect of composting of up to 50 days was studied. Specimen weight loss, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), capillary viscometry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy with accessory for attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and tensile testing were performed to characterize the changes in the physical and mechanical properties of PHBV during its degradation in the composting medium. The results from the analysis of weight loss, SEM, molecular weight, FTIR, DSC and tensile testing, particularly the physical and mechanical properties, suggest that the degradation of PHBV in compost medium is enzymatic rather than hydrolytic and occurs from surface and the degraded material leaches out.
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