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. 2022 May 5;14(9):1894.
doi: 10.3390/polym14091894.

A Comparative Study on the Aerobic Biodegradation of the Biopolymer Blends of Poly(butylene succinate), Poly(butylene adipate terephthalate) and Poly(lactic acid)

Nomvuyo Nomadolo  1   2 , Omotola Esther Dada  3 , Andri Swanepoel  1 , Teboho Mokhena  4 , Sudhakar Muniyasamy  1   2
Affiliations

A Comparative Study on the Aerobic Biodegradation of the Biopolymer Blends of Poly(butylene succinate), Poly(butylene adipate terephthalate) and Poly(lactic acid)

Nomvuyo Nomadolo et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

The aim of the present work is to evaluate the rate and mechanisms of the aerobic biodegradation of biopolymer blends under controlled composting conditions using the CO2 evolution respirometric method. The biopolymer blends of poly (butylene adipate terephthalate) (PBAT) blended with poly (lactic acid) (PLA), and PBAT blended with poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) by melt extrusion, were tested to evaluate the amount of carbon mineralized under home and industrial composting conditions. The changes in the structural, chemical, thermal and morphological characteristics of the biopolymer blends before and after biodegradation were investigated by FT-IR, DSC, TGA, XRD and SEM. Both blends showed higher degradation rates under industrial composting conditions, when compared to home composting conditions. This was confirmed by FT-IR analysis showing an increase in the intensity of hydroxyl and carbonyl absorption bands. SEM revealed that there was microbial colony formation and disintegration on the surfaces of the biopolymer blends. The obtained results suggest that industrial composting conditions are the most suitable for an enhanced biodegradation of the biopolymer blends viz PBAT-PBS and PBAT-PLA.

Keywords: PBAT; PBS; PLA; biodegradability; biopolymer; biopolymer blends.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The biodegradation behavior of the PBAT–PLA and PBAT–PBS blends and cellulose (positive reference) under industrial composting conditions.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) The IR spectra of PBAT–PLA at 0 day, 30 days and 60 days after degradation, and (b) the IR spectra of PBAT–PBS at 0 day, 30 days and 60 days after degradation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) TGA curves of the PBAT–PLA samples before, during and after degradation; (b) TGA curves of the PBAT–PBS samples before, during and after degradation; (c) the DTG curves of the PBAT–PLA samples before, during and after degradation; and (d) the DTG curves of the PBAT–PBS samples before, during and after degradation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) The second heating scans of the PBAT–PLA samples before, during and after degradation, (b) and of the PBAT–PBS samples before, during and after degradation.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) XRD curves of the PBAT–PLA blend before and after degradation, and (b) XRD curves of the PBAT–PBS blend before and after degradation.
Figure 6
Figure 6
(a) SEM image of PBAT–PLA at day 0; (b) SEM image of PBAT–PLA after 30 days biodegradation; (c) SEM image of PBAT–PLA after 60 days of biodegradation; (d) SEM image of PBAT–PBS at day 0; (e) SEM image of PBAT–PBS after 30 days biodegradation; and (f) SEM image of PBAT-––S after 60 days of biodegradation.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Biodegradation of the PBAT–PLA and PBAT–PBS blends under home composting conditions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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