STUDIES ON BIODEGRADATION OF CELLULOSE NANOFIBRIL REINFORCED STARCH/PVA BIOCOMPOSITE FILMS USING AEROBIC COMPOST ENVIRONMENT

摘要

Starch/PVA biocomposite films reinforced with cellulose nanofibrils were prepared by solution casting method incorporating glycerol as a plasticizer. These biocomposite films along with unreinforced films were subjected to biodegradation in an aerobic compost pit. The extents of biodegradation of these films were studied in terms of persentage weight loss. The corresponding changes in the structures and properties of these biocomposites were investigated using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) study and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The presence of fillers influenced the arrangement of the starch and PVA molecules in the film compared to that in the unreinforced film. A significant difference was observed in the nature of biodegradation of unreinforced and the reinforced films. The glass transition temperature, as observed from DSC, showed a decreasing trend, while the melting temperature showed an increasing trend after biodegradation. SEM micrographs revealed that the starch portions were consumed at a faster rate compared to polyvinyl alcohol, which was confirmed from XRD graphs also.