Year: 1992
Type: article
Abstract: Blends of starch with polypropylene, starch with polyethylene, polycaprolactone with polyethylene, and a copolymer of fl-hydroxybutyrate and /~-hydroxyvalerate (PHB/V) were exposed to degrading leaves in a municipal leaf composting operation.Every month for 6 months, duplicate samples were analyzed for changes in weight and tensile properties, and many of these samples were further analyzed for changes in molecular weight and surface morphology.All results were compared to controls which were incubated for 6 months in moist, sterile leaves at a leaf compost temperature.Very little change was noted for any of the polyolefin blends over the 6-month period.In contrast, PHB/V samples showed massive deterioration with substantial weight loss.Although there was a decrease in molecular weight and a loss of tensile properties in leaf-exposed PHB/V films, the sterile control films also showed similar changes, but without weight loss.Of the microbial isolates from film surfaces, only fungi possessed PHB/V depolymerase activity.
DOI: 10.1007/bf01569767
Institution: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Language: English
Subfield: Biomaterials
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: National Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W2145604449