Natural-Fiber-Reinforced Composite Treated with Polyamines Used as a Support for the Biodegradation and Adsorption of Toluene

Abstract

The effect of the addition of two different polyamines into a foamed polymeric matrix with embedded natural fiber, to synthesize biocomposites, was studied during the degradation of toluene in batch experiments. The synthesized biocomposites were able to adsorb and facilitate the degradation of toluene by micro-organisms attached in the biocomposite matrix, at a high extent (80%), in a very short period of time (1 day). The adsorption and biodegradation processes were simultaneous. The molecular weight of polyamine had a slight effect on toluene adsorption, with the lower-molecular-weight polyamine being more favorable for the adsorption process. However, the biocomposites, with polyamines, were not able to carry out the complete biodegradation of toluene during the term of experiment (26 days). The absence of polyamine in the biocomposite had a dramatic effect on adsorption and biodegradation of toluene, improving both processes and showing a CO2 production that is 730% higher than biocomposites synthesized with polyamine, because of a toxic and/or barrier effect of polyamine. This biocomposite, synthesized without polyamine, was able to carry out the complete biodegradation during the first 5 days, and it had adequate cyclic performance.