Biodegradation and swelling studies of gelatin-grafted polyethylene

Abstract

In this article, we report on biodegradation studies and the swelling/solubility behavior of gelatin-grafted polyethylene (PE). The successful synthesis of graft copolymers of PE with gelatin was carried out with benzoyl peroxide as the radical initiator. Biodegradation studies of the grafted PE were carried out via a soil burial test (with and without the addition of urea). Percentage weight loss was studied as a function of time, and we observed that the percentage weight loss increased with time and was higher for urea-enriched soil samples. Microanalysis of the soil containing the samples was carried out after a specified number of days. An increase in the colonies of microorganisms with increasing number of days was observed. This revealed that the microorganisms fed upon the grafted material, which led to an increase in the percentage weight loss. Hydrolysis of the samples, taken out from the soil after a specified number of days, revealed a continuous loss of weight with increasing number of days. The effect of the degradation of the grafted samples buried in soil and urea-enriched soil on the growth of plants was studied, and we found that the plants grew normally in the soil containing the grafted material. Swelling studies were made in binary and ternary solvent systems comprising water–ethanol and water–ethanol–dimethyl sulfoxide, respectively, to study the maximum swelling and solubility of the grafted PE. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008