Proposal of New Starch-Blends Composition Quickly Degradable in Marine Environment

摘要

Due to the durability of classical packaging polymers, and their resistance to degradation process, they tend to stay within the environment long after their final use. As a result, polymers find their way into diverse eco-systems of both terrestrial and marine organisms. The aim of this paper was to obtain a quickly degradable in seawater polymer blend as an alternative proposal for classical polymer packaging. For preliminary studies: poly(lactic acid) (PLA), starch, calcium carbonate (CaCO3), gelatin and glycerol were chosen. PLA was pointed out due to its biodegradability and comparable properties to polyethylene or polypropylene. Whereas starch was chosen as abundant, renewable and cheap polymer (similarly as CaCO3). The processing of starch demands its transformation into thermoplastic material by addition of plasticizer, therefore glycerol was used. Gelatin as another polymer from renewable resources, was added to improve disintegration/biodegradability properties and reduce the price of the blend.