Abstract
Compounds of plant origin are used with polymers as functional additives. However, these substances often have biological (antimicrobial) activity. The bactericidal and fungicidal properties of natural additives can affect the composting process of biodegradable polymers. The scientific novelty of the manuscript is the investigation of the effect of the addition of herbal antimicrobial functional substances on the composting process of green polymers. The aim of the study is to analyze composting processes of biodegradable polymers polylactide (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) containing β-carotene, juglone, morin, and curcumin. As part of the research, six-month composting of materials was performed. At time intervals of one month, the weight loss of samples, surface energy, colour change, mechanical properties, and carbonyl indices (based on FTIR spectroscopy) of composted materials were examined. The research results showed that the addition of selected plant substances slightly slowed down the process of polymer composting. Slower degradation of samples with plant additives was confirmed by the results of mechanical strength tests and the analysis of changes in carbonyl index (CI). The CI analysis showed that PLA and PHA containing a natural additive degrade a month later than reference samples. However, PLA and PHA polyesters with β-carotene, juglone, morin, and curcumin were still very biodegradable.
Highlights
Biodegradable polymers such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and polylactide (PLA) are becoming more popular due to their unique properties
Aliphatic polyesters PLA and PHA are composted and biodegradable, they are an excellent alternative to commercial plastic packaging, especially for single use [1,2]
The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the addition of plant substances with antimicrobial activity on the composting process of biodegradable aliphatic polyesters
Summary
Biodegradable polymers such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and polylactide (PLA) are becoming more popular due to their unique properties. Aliphatic polyesters PLA and PHA are composted and biodegradable, they are an excellent alternative to commercial plastic packaging, especially for single use [1,2]. Biodegradation is the process of degradation caused by biological activity, by enzymatic action, leading to a meaningful change in the chemical structure of the exposed polymeric material and resulting in the production of carbon dioxide, water, mineral salts (mineralization), and new microbial cellular constituents (biomass). Biodegradable materials are plastics that undergo degradation due to the action of naturally occurring microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and algae [3,4,5,6]. Phytocompounds, β-carotene, juglone, morin, and curcumin, were selected for this study
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