Airinei Denisa Nicoleta, Modrogan Cristina, Orbuleț Oanamari Daniela, Dǎncilǎ Annette Madelene, Boşomoiu Magdalena, Matei Cristian
Department of Analytical Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, 1-7 Gheorghe Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania.
Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, 1-7 Gheorghe Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania.
Polymers (Basel). 2025 Jan 28;17(3):356. doi: 10.3390/polym17030356.
Non-degradable plastic bags are a major contributor to marine and soil pollution. They represent a significant percentage of the generated solid waste and can last for hundreds of years in the environment. The aim of the present study was to find alternatives to conventional non-degradable plastic bags by obtaining biodegradable and compostable bags starting from simple materials like starch, poly(lactic acid) (PLA), and glycerol. Increasing the strength and hardness of the polymer was achieved by adding a mineral (talcum). The preliminary studies indicated that two compositions are suitable for advanced testing to produce the initial granular material. These materials were tested for the determination of melt flow index (MFI), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and the polymers response to heating (thermogravimetric analysis, TGA and differential scanning calorimetry, DSC). The polymer biodegradability was evaluated by burial in two types of soil. The obtained results were compared with the same set of experiments performed on conventional polyethylene bags. After three months in the soil, only the materials synthesized in this study show signs of accentuated degradation while polyethylene bags are still intact. The surface morphology was explored by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicated that the biodegradable thermoplastic material meets the requirements of the European standard EN13432/2002 regarding compostable and biodegradable packaging.
不可降解塑料袋是海洋和土壤污染的主要来源。它们在产生的固体废物中占很大比例,并且在环境中可以持续存在数百年。本研究的目的是通过从淀粉、聚乳酸(PLA)和甘油等简单材料出发,获得可生物降解和可堆肥的袋子,来寻找传统不可降解塑料袋的替代品。通过添加一种矿物质(滑石粉)来提高聚合物的强度和硬度。初步研究表明,两种组合物适合进行进一步测试以生产初始颗粒材料。对这些材料进行了熔体流动指数(MFI)测定、傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)以及聚合物对加热的响应(热重分析,TGA和差示扫描量热法,DSC)测试。通过埋入两种类型的土壤中来评估聚合物的生物降解性。将获得的结果与对传统聚乙烯袋进行的同一组实验结果进行比较。在土壤中放置三个月后,只有本研究中合成的材料显示出明显降解的迹象,而聚乙烯袋仍然完好无损。通过扫描电子显微镜(SEM)探索了表面形态。结果表明,这种可生物降解的热塑性材料符合欧洲标准EN13432/2002关于可堆肥和可生物降解包装的要求。