MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND DEGRADATION OF COMMERICAL BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC BAGS

摘要

The properties of six biodegradable commercial plastic bags, including BioBag, Flushdoggy, Green Genius, Oxobiodegradable, Rascodog, and World Centric, were examined. The effects of UV radiation, moisture exposure, weathering and thermal degradation on the tensile properties were studied. The creep and tensile behavior of the bags were also investigated. Most of the bags exhibited mechanical properties similar to traditional bags. One bag that had extensively higher properties was the Flushdoggy bag, which is based on PVA. All the bags generally start to degrade thermally at around 400°C. BioBag and World Centric exhibited significant mass loss around this temperature. Other bags were not affected appreciably. Exposure to UV light did not have much of an effect on tensile properties. UV radiation, moisture, and weathering all had little effect on thermal degradation. Oxo-biodegrable and Flushdoggy became especially brittle after accelerated aging, although Flushdoggy still exhibited strong tensile properties. The data indicated that biodegradable plastic bags may offer an alternative to traditional plastic bags.