Lin Lilian, Joe Matthew, Dang Quang A, Park Heon E
Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA.
New Zealand Institute for Minerals to Materials Research, Greymouth 7805, New Zealand.
Polymers (Basel). 2025 Jul 26;17(15):2037. doi: 10.3390/polym17152037.
Although PLA is an attractive biodegradable polymer, its degradation under natural conditions is often slow. This study investigates whether incorporating pounamu (New Zealand jade) particles into PLA can enhance its biodegradation rate under composting conditions at room temperature. PLA composites containing 0 to 15 wt% pounamu were fabricated using both compression molding and 3D printing. A simple, reproducible protocol based on residual mass measurement was developed to monitor the biodegradation process over a 12-month period. The results showed that increasing pounamu content consistently accelerated mass loss of the composite in the compost, indicating enhanced biodegradation. The 3D-printed samples degraded more rapidly than compression-molded ones. This was attributed to the layered structure, internal microcavities, and lower crystallinity of the 3D-printed samples, which provided greater surface area and accessibility for microbial activity. These findings highlight the dual role of pounamu as both a crystallization promoter and a facilitator of biodegradation and underscore the importance of the processing method when designing biodegradable polymer composites for real-world applications.
尽管聚乳酸（PLA）是一种具有吸引力的可生物降解聚合物，但其在自然条件下的降解通常很缓慢。本研究调查了将绿玉（新西兰玉）颗粒掺入聚乳酸中是否能在室温堆肥条件下提高其生物降解速率。使用压缩成型和3D打印制备了含有0至15重量%绿玉的聚乳酸复合材料。开发了一种基于残余质量测量的简单、可重复的方案，以监测12个月期间的生物降解过程。结果表明，增加绿玉含量会持续加速复合材料在堆肥中的质量损失，表明生物降解增强。3D打印的样品比压缩成型的样品降解得更快。这归因于3D打印样品的层状结构、内部微腔和较低的结晶度，这些为微生物活动提供了更大的表面积和可及性。这些发现突出了绿玉作为结晶促进剂和生物降解促进剂的双重作用，并强调了在设计用于实际应用的可生物降解聚合物复合材料时加工方法的重要性。
